The  Huntington  California  Expedition, 

The  Shasta 

BY  ROLAND  B.   DIXON. 


BULLETIN 

OF   THE 

,m*vic*a     tusettra  af 


VOL.  XVII,   PART  V,  pp.   581-498. 
New   York,  July,  1907. 


'  *  £2  \  ~F" ' 


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V.—  THE  vSHASTA. 

BY  ROLAND  B.  DIXON. 

PLATES  LXX-LXXII. 

CONTENTS. 

INTRODUCTION  ............................................  383 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  ............................................  383 

Geography  and  History  ....................................  384 

Habitat  and  Boundaries  ................................  386 

Topography  and  Environment  ..........................  387 

History  ..............................................  389 

Migration  ............................................  390 

Material  Culture  ..........................................  391 

Manufactures  .........................................  391 

Work  in  Stone  ....................................  391 

Work  in  Wood,  Bone,  and  Shell  ....................  394 

Preparation  of  Hides  ...............................  397 

Cordage  and  Netting  ...............................  398 

Basketry  and  Weaving  .............................  398 

Feather-  Work  ....................................  403 

Clothing  and  Personal  Adornment  .......................  407 

Dwellings  and  Household  Utensils  .......................  413 

*-     Food  and  its  Preparation  ...............................  423 

Hunting  and  Fishing  ..................................  428 

Transportation  and  Trade  ..............................  432 

Warfare  ..............................................  436 

Games  and  Amusements  ...............................  441 

Art  .............................................  5  ........  446 

Decorative  Art  ........................................  446 

Music  .....................  .  ..........................  449 

Social  Organization  and  Law  ...............................  451 

Social  Organization  ....................................  451 

Crimes  and  Punishments  ...............................  453 

Birth,  Puberty,  Marriage,  and  Death  ........................  453 

Birth  ................................................  453 

Names  ...............................................  456 

Puberty  ..............................................  457 

Marriage  .............................................  461 

Death  and  Burial  .....................................  465 

381 


F" 

169456 


-2  §2     Bulletin  American  Museum  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XVII. 

* 

PAGE 

Religion 468 

Beliefs  regarding  the  Soul 468 

Conceptions  of  the  World 470 

Miscellaneous  Beliefs 470 

Shamanism 471 

Ceremonials 489 

Mythology 491 

Conclusion 494 

Appendix 495 

The  Konomi'ihu 495 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  material  presented  in  the  following  paper  was  collected 
by  the  writer  during  the  seasons  of  1900,  1902,  1903,  and  1904, 
partly  from,  the  few  Shasta  resident  on  the  Siletz  Reserva 
tion  in  Oregon,  but  mainly  from  those  still  remaining  in 
their  former  habitat  in  California.  A  large  part  of  the  infor 
mation  was  secured  from  Sargent  Sambo,  hereditary  chief  of 
the  Ki'katsik  or  Wiruhikwai'iruk !  a  Shasta  of  the  Klamath 
River.  Further  material  was  obtained  from  several  old  men 
in  this  section  and  from  other  individuals  in  Scott  Valley, 
at  Forks  of  Salmon,  Yreka,  and  elsewhere.  A  considerable 
mass  of  linguistic  material  and  texts  was  also  secured,  and 
is  in  preparation.  Every  facility  was  given  to  the  work  of 
the  Expedition,  and  much  assistance  given  at  Siletz  in  1902 
by  Mr.  D.  D.  McArthur,  and  again  in  1903  and  1904  by 
Mr.  J.  J.  McKoin,  United  States  Indian  agents.  Thanks  are 
also  due  to  Mr.  Conrad  Litchen  of  Oak  Bar,  Cal.,  for  many 
courtesies. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The  literature  dealing  with  the  ethnology  of  the  Shasta 
is  exceedingly  scanty.  Except  for  the  brief  references  by 
name  in  a  few  early  books  of  travel,  the  following  list  com 
prises  practically  all  the  more  important  titles. 

BURNS,  L.  M.      Digger  Indian  Legends  (Land  of  Sunshine,  Vol.  XIII, 

pp.  130-134,  223-226,  310-314,  397-402). 
DIXON,  R.  B.     The  Shasta- Achoma' wi :  A  New  Linguistic  Stock  with 

Four    New  Dialects  (American   Anthropologist,    N.S.,  Vol.  VII, 

pp.  213-218). 
DIXON,  R.  B.     The   Mythology  of  the    Shasta- Achoma/wi  (American 

Anthropologist,  N.S.,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  607-612). 
EMMONS,  Lieut.  G.  H.       In  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition, 

Vol.  V,  -op.  238-241.    London,  1845.  , 

383 


384   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 

LYON,   C.      The    Manufacture    of    Obsidian    Arrow-heads   (American 

Historical  Magazine,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  214). 
MILLER,  J.     Life  amongst  the  Modocs.     London,  1873. 
POWERS,  S.     Tribes  of  California  (Contributions  to  North  American 

Ethnology,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  243-251). 

GEOGRAPHY  AND  HISTORY. 

Unlike  many  of  the  Indian  stocks  in  California,  the  Shasta 
have,  almost  from  the  beginning,  been  known  by  a  distinct 
and  invariable  name.  The  earlier  forms  —  such  as  Saste, 
Shaste,  Sasty,  Shasty,  Chasty,  Shastl,  Shastika  —  have  given 
place  to  the  form  Shasta,  which  is  that  now  mainly  used  to 
designate  the  Indians  of  this  stock.  The  origin  and  meaning 
of  this  term  (the  various  forms  of  which,  in  spite  of  the  slight 
differences  shown  above,  are  clearly  one  and  the  same  through 
out)  are  both  obscure.  So  far  as  my  information  goes,  it  is  not 
a  term  used  by  the  Shasta  for  themselves,  either  as  a  whole 
or  in  part,  although  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  or  not 
the  term  may  not  have  been  used  to  designate  a  portion  of  the 
stock,  i.e., that  about  the  eastern  portion  of  Shasta  Valley.  Its 
use,  however,  as  such,  is  recent.  It  is  not  a  term  for  the  In 
dians  of  this  stock  in  the  languages  of  the  surrounding  stocks, 
whose  names  for  the  people  are  known,  although  in  use  by 
both  Achoma'wi  and  Atsuge'wi.  It  is  emphatically  denied 
by  the  Shasta  that  it  is  a  place-name  for  any  section  of  the 
territory  occupied  by  them,  and  indeed  there  is  some  ques 
tion  as  to  whether  it  is  even  a  word  proper  to  their  language. 
After  persistent  inquiry,  the  only  information  secured  which 
throws  any  light  on  the  matter  is  to  the  effect  that  about 
forty  or  fifty  years  ago  there  was  an  old  man  living  in  Shasta 
Valley  whose  personal  name  was  Shastika  (Susti'ka).  He 
is  reported  to  have  been  a  man  of  importance;  and  it  is 
hot  impossible  that  the  name  Shasta  came  from  this  Indian, 
an  old  and  well-known  man  in  the  days  of  my  informant's 
father,  who  was  living  at  the  time  of  the  earliest  settlement 
in  this  section,  —  in  the  '50*8.  Inasmuch  as  the  suffix  ka  is 
the  regular  subjective  suffix,  we  should  have  Susti  as  the 
real  name  of  this  individual,  from  which  the  earlier  forms  of 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  385 

Shasty,  etc.,  could  easily  have  been  derived.  The  derivation 
from  the  Russian  "TOCTLIH,  meaning  "white,  clean,"-  — a 
term  supposed  to  have  been  applied  by  the  settlers  at  Fort 
Ross  to  Mount  Shasta,  — •  is  obviously  improbable.  The  matter 
is  further  complicated  by  the  difficulty  of  clearing  up  the 
precise  relationships  of  the  so-called  "Chasta"  of  Oregon, 
and  of  explaining  the  recurrence  of  the  same  term  in  the 
name  of  the  Athabascan  tribe  of  the  Chasta-Costa  of  the 
Oregon  coast. 

Until  recently,  the  Shasta  have  been  regarded  as  forming 
a  linguistic  stock  by  themselves,  and  as  being  entirely  unre 
lated  to  any  other  stock  on  the  continent.  Gatschet,  how 
ever,  some  fifteen  years  or  more  ago,  suggested  a  possible  or 
indeed  probable  affiliation  with  the  Achoma'wi  (Pit  River 
Indians)  or  Palainihan  stock,  but  did  not  demonstrate  it. 
The  linguistic  material  collected  by  the  Huntington  Expe 
dition  has,  however,  supplied  the  needed  evidence;  and  the 
relationship  between  the  two  stocks  seems  now  practically 
certain.  A  portion  of  the  evidence  to  this  effect  has  recently 
been  published,1  and  the  Shasta  may  therefore  be  considered 
as  forming  one  member  of  what  has  been  called  the.Shasta- 
Achoma'wi  stock.  This  binomial  term  has  now,  however, 
been  discarded  as  undesirable,  and  has  been  replaced  by 
Shastan.  The  entire  stock  includes,  besides  the  Shasta  and 
Achoma'wi,  also  the  Atsuge'wi,  or  Hat  Creek  Indians,  to 
gether  with  three  small  fragments, — the  Konomi'hu  of  Forks 
of  Salmon,  the  New  River  Shasta,  and  the  Okwa'nutcu. 

The  Shasta  are  known  to  their  neighbors  on  the  east  and 
south  by  the  following  terms:  Sasti'dji  by  the  Achoma'wi, 
although  the  term  No'mkidji  (probably  borrowed  from  the 
Wintun)  was  also  used;  Susti'dji  by  the  Atsuge'wi;  Wai'ken- 
muk  by  the  Wintun  of  the  McCloud  and  upper  Sacramento. 
The  Okwa'nutcu  were  known  to  the  Achoma'wi  and  Atsuge'wi 
as  Ye'ti  (from  Yet,  the  term  in  use  for  Mount  Shasta)  and 
also  as  Iqusade'wi. 


i  Dixon,  The  ShastA-Achoma'wi:  A  New  Linguistic  Stock  with  Four  New  Dialects 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.S.,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  213-218). 


386   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [  Vol  .XVII, 

HABITAT  AND  BOUNDARIES.  —  The  area  occupied  by  the 
Shasta  lies  partly  in  California  and  partly  in  Oregon,  including 
almost  the  whole  of  Siskiyou  County  in  the  former,  and 
parts  of  Jackson  and  Klamath  Counties  in  the  latter  State. 
On  the  south  they  were  in  contact  with  the  Wintun;  on  the 
east,  with  the  Achoma'wi  and  the  Lutua'mi  or  Klamath  Lake 
Indians;  on  the  north,  with  the  Takelma  and  the  various 
Athabascan  tribes  along  the  Rogue  and  Umpqua  Rivers; 
and  on  the  west,  with  the  Athabascans,  the  Takelma,  and 
the  Karok.  In  more  detail  the  area  occupied  may  be  de 
scribed  as  follows.  Beginning  at  Mount  Shasta,  the  bound 
ary  ran  nearly  due  north,  over  Goose  Nest  mountain  to  the 
Klamath  River,  reaching  the  river  a  little  above  the  mouth  of 
Jenny  Creek.  From  this  point  on  the  river,  the  rather  vague 
line  seems  to  have  swung  to  the  east  a  little,  so  as  to  include 
within  Shasta  territory  all  the  head-waters  of  Jenny  Creek, 
and  then  to  have  followed  roughly  along  the  divide  to  Mount 
Pitt.  Here  the  line  turns  westward  to  the  Rogue  River  at 
the  mouth  of  Little  Butte  Creek,  and  thence  along  Rogue 
River  to  Table  Rock  at  the  mouth  of  Stewart  River,  or,  as 
it  is  also  known,  Bear  Creek.  From  this  point,  the  line  ran 
apparently  southward,  along  the  divide  between  the  western 
tributaries  of  Stewart  River  and  the  eastern  tributaries  of 
Applegate  Creek,  swung  around  the  head  of  the  latter,  and 
curved  sharply  west,  following  the  crest  of  the  Siskiyous  to 
the  vicinity  of  Thompson  Creek,  where  the  boundary  touched 
the  Klamath  again  at  the  village  of  Ussini.  Southward  from 
here,  the  divide  between  the  western  tributaries  of  Scott 
River  and  the  eastern  tributaries  of  the  Klamath  and  Salmon 
Rivers  seems  to  have  been  the  line  dividing  the  Shasta  from 
the  Karok  and  from  the  two  small  fragments  of  the  Shastan 
stock,  —  the  Konomrhu  and  the  New  River  Shasta.  From 
the  extreme  southwestern  corner  of  Siskiyou  County  the 
boundary  ran  east  to  Mount  Shasta  again,  following  approx 
imately  the  divide  between  the  Trinity  and  Sacramento  Rivers 
on  the  south  and  the  Scott  and  Shasta  Rivers  on  the  north. 

Concerning  a  part  of  this  territory — that,  namely,  within  the 
limits  of  the  State  of  Oregon  — there  is  still  some  uncertainty. 


v 


/ 
x^ 

1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  387 

According  to  the  best  information  obtainable,  the  Rogue 
River  Indians  (Athabascans)  and  the  Shasta  have  long  been 
enemies,  and  had  contended  since  time  immemorial  for  the 
Oregon  area  now  claimed  by  the  Shasta.  At  a  period  about 
a  hundred  years  ago,  as  nearly  as  could  be  estimated,  the 
Shasta  declare  that  they  finally  drove  the  Rogue  River 
people  completely  out  of  the  territory  in  dispute,  and  that 
they  were  themselves  in  occupancy  of  it  when  the  white 
trappers  first  penetrated  to  the  region.  That  the  Rogue 
River  Indians  still  claimed  the  area  as  theirs,  however,  is 
shown  by  the  treaty  of  Sept.  10,  1853,  by  which  they  ceded 
this  section  and  also  a  portion  of  what  was,  I  believe,  unques 
tionably  Shasta  territory  lying  within  the  State  of  California.1 
That  full  dependence  cannot,  however,  be  placed  upon  such 
cessions,  is  shown,  for  example,  in  the  cession  by  the  Klamath 
Lake  Indians,  in  1851  and  again  in  1864,  of  Shasta  Valley 
itself,2  an  integral  part  of  the  Shasta  territory,  if  there  is 
any  such.  Perhaps  the  most  that  can  be  said  at  present,  in 
the  absence  of  any  information  from  the  side  of  the  Rogue 
River  Indians,  is  that  the  ownership  of  the  portion  of  Oregon 
claimed  by  the  Shasta  was  vigorously  disputed,  and  that  it 
is  not  unlikely  that  the  Shasta  were  the  original  possessors. 

TOPOGRAPHY  AND  ENVIRONMENT.  —  The  region  occupied  by 
the  Shasta  is  rugged  and  mountainous  almost  throughout, 
and,  except  for  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Klamath  River, 
has  everywhere  an  elevation  of  over  eight  hundred  metres. 
The  portion  of  Shasta  territory  lying  within  California,  that 
which  seems  unquestionably  theirs,  divides  itself  topograph 
ically  into  three  sections,  comprising  respectively  the  Klamath 
River  Valley,  Scott  Valley,  and  Shasta  Valley. 

The  first  of  these  includes  the  course  of  the  Klamath  from 
near  Fall  Creek  to  Indian  Creek,  a  stretch  of,  roughly,  seventy 
miles.  In  this  part  of  its  course,  the  river  is  a  rapid  stream, 
flowing  in  a  deep  canyon  valley,  with  little  level  land  along 
its  banks,  except  for  the  deltas  of  the  larger  tributary  streams. 


1  Royce,    Indian  Land  Cessions  (Report  of    the    Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896-97, 
Part  2,  pp.  778,  789,  and  Plates  CXV,  CLVIII). 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  788,  789,  834,  835,  and  Plates  CXIV,  CXV 


388  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 

The  climate,  like  that  of  most  of  the  Shasta  area,  is  charac 
terized  by  hot  summers  (often  with  frequent  thunderstorms) 
and  moderately  cold  winters,  in  which  there  is  generally,  upon 
the  mountains  at  least,  a  very  heavy  snowfall.  In  the  early 
days  the  river  teemed  with  salmon  and  other  fish,  game  was 
abundant  in  the  mountains,  and  there  was  a  fairly  large 
supply  of  acorns  and  other  vegetable  foods. 

Scott  Valley,  the  second  of  the  sections,  is  one  of  that 
class  of  broad,  flat-floored  mountain  valleys  that  are  found 
especially  well  developed  in  the  northern  Sierras.  Some 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles  in  length,  and  five  or  six  in  width* 
watered  by  a  considerable  stream,  and  surrounded  by  high, 
rugged  mountains,  it  formed  an  almost  ideal  spot  for  an 
Indian  community.  As  in  the  region  along  the  Klamath 
River,  fish  and  game  were  abundant,  acorns  were  to  be  had 
in  considerable  quantities,  and  pine-nuts  and  other  vegetable 
foods  added  to  the  general  food-supply. 

Shasta  Valley  is  considerably  larger  than  Scott  Valley, 
but,  on  the  whole,  far  less  uniform  in  its  character.  Much  of 
the  southern  end  of  the  valley  is  covered  by  old  lava- flows, 
or  small  volcanic  cones,  interspersed  with  swamps.  The 
central  and  smoother  portions  are  more  favorable  in  their 
character,  but  are  treeless,  and  broken  up  by  man}'  small 
buttes.  The  heat  in  this  portion  of  Shasta  Valley  in  summer 
is  often  great.  Game  was  originally  abundant  here  and  in 
the  mountains  round  about. 

Corresponding  roughly  to  these  three  topographical  divi 
sions  were,  apparently,  three  sections  or  groups  of  the  Shasta. 
The  three  divisions  were  distinguished  by  slight  differences 
of  language  and  custom,  and  governmentally  each  formed 
more  or  less  of  a  unit.  The  Klamath  River  Shasta  were 
known  most  commonly  by  the  term  Kamma'twa,  although 
they  were  also  called  Wiruhikwai'iruk.'a;  the  Scott  Valley 
people  were  known  as  Ki'katsik  or  Iruai'tsu.  The  former 
term  seems  to  include  sometimes  also  the  Shasta  Valley  peo 
ple  ;  and  the  latter  refers  more  particularly  to  the  northern 
end  of  Scott  Valley,  Iru'ai  being  the  name  for  Indian  Creek. 
That  portion  of  the  stock  occupying  Shasta  Valley  was  com- 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  389 

monly  spoken  of  as  Ahotire'itsu  (from  Ahotida/'e',  "  Shasta 
Valley").  The  Oregon  Shasta  were  known  as  Kaho'sadi. 

The  Shasta  seem  to  have  had  a  considerable  number  all 
together  of  small  villages  or  settlements;  and  the  names  and 
locations  of  these,  so  far  as  known,  are  shown  — together  with 
other  geographical  names  and  the  divisions  of  the  stock  —  on 
the  map,  Plate  LIX. 

HISTORY. — The  first  Europeans  to  come  in  contact  with 
the  Shasta  in  their  own  habitat  were  probably  the  adven 
turous  fur-hunters  of  the  second  and  third  decades  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Scott  River  was  known  to  them  as 
Beaver  River,  and  was  much  frequented  as  a  wintering  place. 
One  of  the  earliest  references  to  them  is  their  mention  by 
Gairdner1  in  the  list  of  tribes  obtained  by  him  from  Michel 
la  Framboise  in  1835. 

Old  men  now  living  recall  stories  of  the  excitement  conse 
quent  on  the  arrival  of  these  first  Europeans,  and  still  tell  of 
their  fringed  buckskin  clothes,  and  of  the  long  knives  they 
brought  to  trade.  All  agree  that  the  strangers  came  down  the 
Klamath  River  from  the  east. 

Lieutenant  Emmons  and  his  party,  who,  as  members  of 
the  tlnited  States  Exploring  Expedition,  made  the  overland 
trip  from  the  Columbia  River  to  San  Francisco  in  1841,  are 
almost  the  first  to  speak  of  the  Shasta  from  personal  experi 
ence,  but  the  account  given2  is  very  brief.  Thus  it  was  not 
until  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  region,  in  1850,  that  the 
section  was  much  visited. 

The  sudden  flood  of  whites  brought  into  the  Shasta  country 
by  the  gold-finds  had  its  usual  sad  result.  Yreka  (named  for 
Wai'ika,  as  the  Shasta  call  Mount  Shasta)  was  settled,  and 
became  a  bustling,  roaring  mining-town ;  and  we  may  read 
in  Joaquin  Miller's  "Life  among  the  Modocs"  how  cruelly 
the  Indians  of  that  region  and  along  the  Klamath  River  were 
treated.  ;  The  Shasta  played  quite  an  important  part  in  the 
so-called  "  Rogue  River  wars"  of  1853-54,  and  1855-56,  bands 


1  Gairdner,  Notes  on  the  Indian  Tribes  on  the  Upper  and  Lower  Columbia  (Journal 
he  Royal  Geographical  Society,  Vol.  XI,  p.  256). 

2  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  Vol.  V,  pp.  239,  240. 


39°  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.   XVII, 

from  as  far  as  Scott  and  Shasta  Valleys  coming  north  across 
the  Siskiyous  to  aid  their  Rogue  River  brethren.1  In  this 
conflict,  however,  as  in  many  other  of  the  Indian  troubles  in 
this  section,  the  whites  were  as  much  to  blame,  if  not  more  so, 
as  the  Indians  themselves.  This  war  —  together  with  unpro 
voked  murder,  and  wholesale  massacre,  disease,  and  the 
famine  consequent  on  the  destruction  of  the  food- supply  - 
produced  a  rapid  diminution  in  numbers,  till  there  remains 
to-day,  all  told,  probably  less  than  twoscore  widely  scattered 
full-blood  members  of  the  Shasta. 

Except  for  four  individuals  at  Siletz,  one  or  two  at  Grand 
Ronde  Reservation  in  Oregon,  and  one  woman  at  Yakima,  all 
the  Shasta  now  known  to  be  living  are  scattered  through 
out  their  old  territory.  A  few  are  at  Yreka,  much  mixed 
with  Wintun;  there  are  several  in  Scott  Valley;  and  perhaps 
a  score  or  so  at  various  points  along  the  Klamath  River.  In 
addition  to  these  full-bloods,  there  are  quite  a  number  of 
half-breeds.  The  census  figures  relating  to  this  region  are  of 
little  value,  as  the  majority  of  the  individuals  enumerated 
belong  to  the  Yurok,  or  perhaps  to  the  Lutua'mi  stocks. 
Estimates  of  the  population  before  1850  are  very  varied. 
De  Mofras2  in  1840-42  estimated  the  Saste  at  four  hundred; 
Emmons,3  in  1841,  at  five  hundred.  McKee4  in  1851  secured 
information  as  to  fifty  villages,  from  which,  allowing  sixty 
persons  as  an  average,  he  obtained  three  thousand  as  the  total 
number  of  the  Shasta.  From  the  numbers  mentioned  in  the 
accounts  of  the  Rogue  River  war,  however,  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  warrant  for  assuming  so  large  a  population, 
and  I  should  doubt  if  there  were  really  more  than  two 
thousand  of  the  Shasta  at  the  time  when  the  first  European 
contact  occurred. 

MIGRATION.  —  No  tradition  has  been  thus  farjsecured  as 
to  any  migration.  The  Shasta  regard  themselves  as^having 

i  H.  H.  Bancroft,  Hist9ry  of  Oregon,  Vol.  II,  Chaps.  VII,  XII,  XV,  XVI  ;  also 
Report  on  Indian  Hostilities  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  3 4th  Cong.,  ist  Sess.,  House 
t,x.  Doc.,  Vol.  XI,  No.  93. 

2>Duflot  de  Mofras.  Exploration  du  Territoire  de  1'Oregon,  etc.,  Vol.  II,     p.  335. 

3  Uniteo  States  Exploring  Expedition,  Vol.  V. 

«  Schoolcraft,  History,  Condition,  and  Prospects,  etc.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  171. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


39* 


been  created  in  the  region  they  now  occupy,  and  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  other  area.  In  this  they  are  in  accord  with 
the  majority  of  the  California  tribes.  Some  evidence,  however, 
is  given  by  their  general  culture,  which  makes  it  not  impos 
sible  that  they  are  in  origin  an  Oregonian  stock. 

MATERIAL  CULTURE. 

MANUFACTURES.  Work  in  Stone.  —  The  implements  of 
stone  made  by  the  Shasta  comprise  knives,  arrow-points, 
scrapers,  pipe-tips,  pestles,  and  soapstone  vessels.  Mortars 
and  stone  pipes,  while  known,  were  apparently  not  made. 

The  Shasta  were  fortunate  in 
having  in  their  vicinity  a  consider 
able  abundance  of  obsidian,  from 
which  knives,  arrow- 
points,  and  scrapers  of 
the  best  quality  could 
be  made.  The  great 
'majority  of  these  imple 
ments  were  therefore  of 
this  substance,  and  were 
well  made.  Knives  (Fig. 
68)  seem  often  to  have 
been  used  without  haft- 
ing  of  any  kind,  although 
sometimes  a  piece  of 
buckskin  was  wrapped 
about  the  end.  Arrow- 
points  were  made  by 
holding  the  flake  or  piece  of  obsidian  in  a  split  stick,  as 
in  a  vise,  one  end  of  the  stick  being  held  under  the  left 
arm.  A  piece  of  sharpened  or  split  antler  was  used  in 
flaking  the  point.  Scrapers  were  very  often  made  of  red 
obsidian,  although  deer-ulnae  were,  on  the  whole,  more  com 
monly  used  than  stone  scrapers.  Pipe- tips  were  either  of 
serpentine,  or  other  fine-grained  stone.  They  were  ground 
laboriously  into  shape,  the  hole  being  pierced  by  pounding 


Fig.     68     (3|j5).       Obsidian 
Knife.      Length,  8  cm. 


Fig.  69  (if|t). 
Fragment  of  a 
Stone  Pipe. 
Length,  7  cm. 


3  9  2    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [  Vol .  XVI I , 


with  a  piece  of  antler,  aided  by  sand.  What  is  apparently  a 
portion  of  a  pipe  wholly  of  stone  was  picked  up  on  the  sur 
face  near  Honolulu,  on  the  Klamath  River  (Fig.  69).  It  is, 
however,  different  from  the  type  of  pipe  used  by  the  Shasta, 
and  was  regarded  by  them  as  mysterious,  and  probably 
endowed  with  great  magic  power.  It  is  nicely  finished  on 
the  exterior. 


.  7°  (rt  32831  b  3?£gi 

circumference,  20  cm. 


Stone   Pestles.      Length  of  a,  17  cm.;   maximum 


Pestles  (Fig.  70)  for  acorn-  pounding  were  generally  cylin 
drical,  and  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  centimetres  long.  In 
many  cases  they  were  well  made,  some  having  a  slight  knob 
at  the  upper  end,  as  shown  in  c.  Others,  again,  were  rough 
and  irregular.  Soapstone  vessels  were  considerably  used  for 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  393 

holding  fish,  fish-oil,  etc.  They  were  shallow  oval  platters, 
not  over  thirty  or  forty  centimetres  long,  and  were  pecked 
and  scraped  out,  and  into  shape,  by  means  of  harder  stones. 
Few,  if  any,  of  these  vessels  are  to  be  found  to-day. 

According  to  the  unanimous  statements  of  the  Shasta, 
mortars  were  not  used  by  them.  Within  the  area  occupied, 
however,  mortars  are  found,  in  some  places  in  large  numbers. 
They  occur  on  the  surface,  and  also  buried  to  depths  of 
several  feet  in  the  gravel  or  soil.  Large  numbers  of  these  are 
to  be  found  in  several  of  the  village  stores  in  the  region,  and 
date  from  the  earlier  mining-days  of  the  '50*3  and  '6o's.  In 
general,  these  mortars  are  rather  less  finished  than  the  mortars 
found  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  Sierra  region,  and  some 
are  taller,  and  more  cylindrical  in  shape.  The  feeling  of  the 
Shasta  in  regard  to  these  mortars  is  a  very  strong  one.  They 
are  considered  as  very  mysterious  objects,  are  never  touched 
except  by  the  shamans,  and,  if  one  is  found  or  seen  at  any 
place,  it  is  given  a  wide  berth.  The  mortars  are  some 
times  regarded  as  of  themselves  powerful  Axe'ki,  or  "pains," 
although  in  other  cases  it  is  thought  that  they  merely  indi 
cate  the  proximity  of  an  Axe'ki's  dwelling,  which  may  be 
some  near-by  ledge  or  pinnacle  of  rock.  The  Axe'ki,  as  will 
be  explained  later,  are  spirits  who  are  the  guardians  and 
familiars  of  the  shamans,  and  who  aid  them  in  curing  or 
causing  disease.  Mortars  are  supposed  to  have  the  power 
of  independent  motion,  and  to  be  continually  moving  about 
the  country.  One  day  a  mortar  will  be  seen  here,  the  next 
some  distance  away,  travelling  every  day  several  feet.  In 
some  cases,  mortars  are  said  to  have  power  to  change 
their  shape.  Pestles,  in  particular  small  pestles,  were  simi 
larly  regarded.  Those  feared  did  not  seem  to  differ  in  any 
respect  from  those  in  common  use,  but  were,  nevertheless, 
thought  to  be  very  dangerous  objects  if  found  lying  about, 
and  were  made  use  of  by  shamans  in  some  of  their  nefarious 
practices.  A  pestle  of  this  sort  (found  and  not  made),  unless 
it  was  placed  on  solid  rock,  would  sink  into  the  ground  in 
a  few  days,  and  would  then  travel  about  under  the  surface, 
and  reappear  at  some  other  place  far  away.  Stone  pipes 


394  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 

were,  like  these  mortars  and  pestles,  occasionally  found,  and 
had  an  equally  bad  reputation.  They  might  be  handled 
only  by  shamans,  and  are  said  to  have  been  eagerly  sought 
for  by  them  for  evil  purposes. 

This  complete  absence  of  the  use  of  mortars;  the  beliefs 
in  connection  with  certain  pestles  and  pipes;  the  fear  felt 
of  all  these  objects,  and  the  consideration  of  them  as  intelli 
gent,  supernatural  beings,  with  the  power  of  locomotion  — 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  mortars  found  here  were 
not  made  by  the  Shasta,  nor  by  their  ancestors  within  tradi 
tional  times.  A  somewhat  similar  state  of  affairs  was  shown 
to  exist  in  the  case  of  the  Maidu,1  although  there,  the  feel 
ing  of  fear  and  superstitious  reverence  was  confined  to  the 
mortars  alone,  and  was  not  as  pronounced  as  among  the 
Shasta. 

Work  in  Wood,  Bone,  and  Shell.  —  Except  for  their  bows, 
the   Shasta   used   wood  for  but  few  implements,   the    most 


Fig.  71  (sfSi).     Wooden  Spoon.      Length,  19  cm. 


important  of  which  were  spoons,  pipes,  and  mush-paddles. 
Spoons  (Fig.  71)  were  made  of  both  wood  and  horn.  In  type 
they  are  closely  similar  to  those  used  by  the  Karok,  Yurok, 
and  Hupa,  although,  as  a  rule,  they  were  less  decorated  by 
carving.  The  pipes  (Fig.  72)  used  here  were  of  the  same 

1  See  pp.  136,  137  of  this  volume. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


395 


character  as  those  made  by  the  three  tribes  just  mentioned 
living  lower  down  the  river.    The  form  was  the  usual  tubular, 
trumpet- shaped  one,  varying  from  fifteen  to  twenty  centi 
metres  in   length.      The    pipes    are   often    so   regularly   and 
beautifully  made  as  to  suggest  machine-turning.    The  method 
of  boring  the  piece  of  wood  from  which  the  pipe  was  to  be 
made   was    exceedingly   ingenious,   if  we    may   believe    the 
account  given  by  several  informants  independ 
ently.     As  described,  the  method  was  applicable 
to  only  one  variety  of  wood  (unidentified) ,  —  a 
variety  which  was  quite  hard,  yet  possessed  a 
small,  somewhat  porous  pith  or  heart- wood.    A 
number   of    sticks  of  this  wood  were,  so   it    is 
said,  placed  on  end  in  a  dish  of  salmon-oil,  first 
on  one  end,   and  then  on  the   other.    By  this 
means,  the  pithy,  porous  heart- wood  absorbed 
considerable   oil,    much  more  than  did   the  re 
mainder    of   the  wood.       This  central  core  of 
heart- wood  was  then  dug  out   at  one  end,   as 
deeply  as  could  be,  with  a  fine-pointed    bone 
awl.    Then  a  small  grub  or  worm,  infesting  the 
dried  salmon  as  preserved  in  the  houses,  was 
placed   in   the    excavation,  and  this    was  then 
sealed    with  a    bit    of    pitch.      The  grub    thus 
imprisoned   is    declared  to   have   eaten  the  oil- 
soaked  pith  or  heart- wood,  following  the  core, 
from  one    end   to  the  other,   finally  eating  its 
way   out   at   the   opposite  end.      Many  of  the 
grubs  died,  or  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  oil-    Fig.  72  dig,,  A). 
soaked  pith;  but,  out  of  a  dozen  or  more  pre-     L^STiscS!' 
pared   sticks   hung  up   under  the   roof    during 
the  winter,  one  or  two  were,  it  is  claimed,  generally  found 
bored  in  the  spring. 

Owing  to  the  rapids  and  swift  current  of  the  Klamath, 
and  the  impermanent  nature  of  the  other  streams  (which 
often  nearly  dry  up  in  the  summer)  the  Shasta  made  little 
in  the  way  of  canoes.  Occasionally  they  obtained  them  from 
the  Karok  or  Yurok,  but  they  rarely  made  them  themselves. 


396    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 


When  made,  they  were  dug  out  from  sugar- pine  logs,  as  a 
rule,  and  were  crude  imitations  of  the  well-known,  square- 
ended  type  characteristic  of  the  lower  river. 

Bone  and  antler  were  used  for  scrapers,  awls, 

wedges,    arrow- flakers,   and  salmon-gigs.      The 

deer-ulna  or  elk-rib  was   most  commonly  the 

form  of  scraper  used  in  the  preparation  of  hides. 

Awls  and  basket-needles 

w*ere    small    and    neat. 

Elk-horn    wedges    were 

used  for    splitting  logs, 

being    driven  by   stone 

mauls  held  in  the  hand 

without  handles.  Arrow- 

flakers  of  split  or  sharp 
ened  •  deer- antler    were 

used    generally  without 

handles.      The    salmon- 
gig  (Fig.  73)  was  of  the 

usual  type,  but  now,  as 

a  rule,  is  made  of  nails. 
The  chief  use  of  shell 

was  for  ornament,  and, 

in  the  form  of  beads,  as 

currency.       Women's 

skirts   were    elaborately 

decorated    with    beads, 

pieces    of    abalone,   and 

dent  alia.     The  disk- 
shaped  beads  of  the  type 

so  common  in  the  more 

southern    parts    of    the 

State  were  not  so  much 

used  here.    The  abalone 

and    dentalia   were   ob 
tained   in    trade   with   the    tribes    of   the  lower  river,    and 
also    from   the    Rogue    River   people   in   Oregon.     Dentalia 
were   much   used   as   currency.      Abalone    and   other  shells 


„  Fig.  73  (3f  ^8), 
Salmon-gig. 
Length  of  gig, 
10  cm. 


Total  length,  59  cm. 


Necklace. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  397 

were  much  used,  particularly  for  necklaces,  ear- ornaments, 
etc.  As  currency,  dentalia  were  divided  into  two  classes, 
—  those  measuring  less  than  the  distance  from  the  base 
of  the  little  finger  to  the  crease  between  the  second  and 
third  joints,  and  those  measuring  more  than  this  distance. 
The  value  of  the  latter  was  twice  that  of  the  former,  and  they 
are  now  regarded  as  equalling  a  dollar.  These  larger  dentalia 
were  often  decorated  by  incised  lines,  or  the  addition  of  tiny 
red  feathers  ^Fig.  74).  Dentalia  of  the  large  variety  were 
generally  strung  on  small  cords,  and,  together  with  the  smaller 
variety,  were  kept  in  small  cylindrical  baskets  provided  with 
a  cover  fitting,  it  is  said,  inside  the  rim.  These  baskets 
were  finely  made,  and  were  carefully  kept  in  small  buck 
skin  bags.  Horn  purses  like  those  used  by  the  Hupa  were 
rarely  found  here.  Disk  beads,  kept  in  strings,  were  used 
to  some  extent  as  currency  also;  the  unit  of  measure  being 
the  length  of  a  string  stretching  from  hand  to  hand  while 
the  arms  are  extended  at  full  length  on  each  side,  the  centre 
of  the  string  hanging  to  the  navel.  While  speaking  of  cur 
rency,  mention  might  be  made  here  of  the  use  of  woodpecker- 
scalps  (Fig.  75)  for  this  purpose  also.  These  were  carefully 
dried  and  prepared,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  dentalia,  were 
of  two  grades,  the  scalp  of  the  large  woodpecker  being  worth 
twice  that  of  a  small  one.  They  were  kept  in  rolls  of  buck 
skin  to  preserve  them  flat  and  unruffled. 

Preparation  of  Hides.  — Deerskins  were  dressed  and  pre 
pared  by  the  Shasta  in  the  usual  manner.  After  soaking, 
the  hair  was  removed,  and  the  hide  grained  by  scraping  with 
a  stone  or  bone  scraper,  the  hide  being  laid  on  a  slanting  post 
set  in  the  ground.  Deer-brains  were  used  to  soften  the  skin, 
and,  following  this,  the  hides  were  well  smoked  and  sunned. 
The  skins  were  finally  whitened  by  rubbing  with  white  clay, 
and  were,  when  finished,  fine,  soft,  and  of  very  good  quality. 

The  Shasta  made,  they  say,  from  .rawhide  a  receptacle 
somewhat  in  the  shape  of  the  ordinary  conical  pack-basket. 
The  rim  of  the  affair  was  of  wood,  over  which  the  rawhide 
was  lapped  and  sewed.  It  was  carried  on  the  back  like 
a  pack-basket,  and  served  for  gathering  and  carrying  grass- 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 


seed  and  small  roots.  The  seed-beater  used  here  seems 
often  also  to  have  been  made  in  part  of  rawhide,  this  being 
stretched  over  a  framework  of  basketry.  Both  these  seed- 
beaters  and  pack-baskets  have  gone  out  of  use. 

Cordage  and  Netting.  —  Cord 
and  rope  were  made  from  the 
wild  hemp  (Apocynttm  sp.)  and 
from  a  variety  of  grass  as  yet 
undetermined.  The  nets  used 
were  chiefly  pocket- shaped,  and 
were  set  up  and  used  as  de 
scribed  under  hunting  and  fish 
ing.  Seine-nets  were  used  to 
some  extent  also.  The  manu 
facture  of  nets  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  men.  The  cord  was  kept 
on  a  netting-shuttle  similar  to 
those  in  use  among  the  Hupa.1 
Mesh-measures  of  the  type  used 
lower  down  the  river  were  also 
formerly  in  use. 

The  manufacture  of  the 
netted  cap,  so  characteristic  of 
the  Maidu  and  other  stocks  of 
Central  California,  seems  to  be 
lacking  here.  It  is  said,  how 
ever,  that  the  Shasta  Valley 
people  did  make  and  wear  these  caps,  obviously  in  imitation 
of  those  worn  by  the  Wintun.  There  is  also  no  trace,  appar 
ently,  of  the  "kiseaqot,"  or  netted  head-decoration  worn  by 
the  Hupa2  and  other  Indians  of  the  lower  Klamath.  Netted 
sacks  were  also  lacking,  it  seems ;  although  in  the  vicinity  of 
Seiad  Valley,  where  the  Shasta  abutted  on  the  Karok,  a  few 
were  to  be  found. 

Basketry  and  Weaving.  — Basketry  would  appear  to  have 


Fig.  75  (3??rB). 
used  as  Currency. 


Woodpecker-Scalp 
Length,  10  cm. 


1  Goddard,  Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupa  (University  of  California  Publications, 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  Vol.  I,  p.  35,  and  Fig.  2,  Plate  14). 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  83,  84,  and  Plate  7. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  399 

been  for  a  long  period  less  important  as  an  art  than  it  was 
among  the  people  of  either  Central  or  Northwestern  California ; 
and  in  earlier  times,  as  now,  the  Shasta  relied  to  a  great 
extent  on  other  tribes  for  their  baskets.  At  the  present  day, 
scarcely  a  single  basket  is  made  by  the  Shasta;  and  all  that 
they  use,  or  sell  to  collectors,  are  bought  from  the  Karok  and 
other  lower  Klamath  peoples. 

The  materials  formerly  used  for  basketry  by  the  Shasta 
were  various.  For  the  ribs,  or  radial  elements,  they  generally 
used  the  hazel  (Corylus  calif ornica)  or  the  willow  (Salix  sp.), 
whose  roots,  as  well  as  whose  twigs,  were  employed,  the  for 
mer,  it  is  said,  much  more  than  the  latter.  The  roots  were 
always  used  to  make  the  outer  ring  on  the  bottom  of  the 
basket.  The  twining- element  was  almost  exclusively  the  root 
of  the  yellow  pine  (Finns  ponderosa  Dougl.).  The  root  was 
cut  or  dug  up  in  pieces  thirty  centimetres  or  more  in  length, 
and  from  five  to  ten  centimetres  in  diameter.  These  pieces 
were  first  baked  and  then  steamed,  after  which  they  were  care 
fully  split  into  thin  sheets  from  four  to  six  centimetres  wide. 
In  this  form  they  were  preserved,  and,  when  wanted  for  use, 
were  again  boiled  and  steamed,  and  split  into  finer  strips. 
The  strips  thus  prepared  were  dyed  black  (by  an  infusion  of 
acorn-shells)  or  red  (with  alder-bark) .  In  the  latter  case,  the 
bark  was  chewed  by  the  woman,  who  meanwhile  passed  the 
strip  of  pine-root  back  and  forth  through  her  mouth.  This 
twining-element  was  overlaid,  in  caps  and  in  the  finer  sorts 
of  basketry,  with  basket-grass  (Xerophyllum  tenax  Nutt.)  or 
with  the  black,  shining  stem  of  the  maidenhair- fern  (Adian- 
tum  pedatum  L.). 

The  types  and  forms  (Fig.  76,  a— g)  of  baskets  as  used 
among  the  Shasta,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  baskets  collected, 
were  very  similar  to,  indeed  practically  identical  with,  those 
used  by  the  Yurok,  Karok,  and  Hupa.  There  were  large 
storage-baskets  (/,  g) ,  smaller  cooking-baskets  (c,  d) ,  platter 
or  tray  baskets  (a),  and  small  trinket-baskets  (6).  Burden 
or  pack  baskets  of  conical  shape  (e)  were  also  in  use;  and 
these,  together  with  many  of  the  tray-baskets,  were  of  the 
open-work  style  of  make.  Occasionally  these  were  finished 


4OO  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 

by   a   band   of  the   ordinary  closer  twining  (Plate  LXVII, 
Fig.  2). 

Owing  to  the  very  considerable  doubt  as  to  the  real 
provenance  of  most  of  the  baskets  secured,  and  to  the  possi 
bility  that  the  original  Shasta  technique  may  have,  in  the 
case  of  the  baskets  secured  at  Siletz,  suffered  a  change  from 
contact  with  the  Oregonian  Athabascans,  a  minute  discussion 


Fig.  76  (a  ,f $2,  b  5ggT,  c  ,{$„,  d  jgiB,  e  3|g3,  /3?§B,  g  sfic)-     Outlines  of  Shasta  Basket- 
forms. 

of  the  technique  seems  inadvisable.  This  is  the  more  true, 
in  that  all  the  baskets  obtained  from  the  Shasta  in  California 
agree  in  almost  every  particular  with  those  from  the  Hupa, 
Karok,  and  Yurok,  so  fully  described  by  Goddard1  and 
Kroeber.2  Like  them,  they  are  exclusively  of  the  twined 
variety,  the  simple  twining  being  the  form  most  frequently 


1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  pp.  38-48. 

2  Kroeber,  Basket   Designs   of  the  Indians  of  Northwestern  California  (University 
of  California  Publications.  American  Archseology  and  Ethnology,  Vol.  II,  pp.  109-116) 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


employed,  although  three-  strand  twining  occurs  on  the  bot 
toms  of  baskets,  and  occasionally  in  a  narrow  band  near  the 
rim.  As  in  the  baskets  of  the  northwestern  type,  the  warps 
are,  in  the  open-work  baskets  and  occasionally  in  other  bas 
kets,  sometimes  crossed  just  below  the  edge  (Plates  LX,  Fig.i  ; 
LXVIII,  Fig.  i;  LXX,  Fig.  2). 

On  the  bottoms  of  baskets,  as  a  rule,  groups  of  from  three 
to  five  warps  are  included  between  the  woof-  strands,  the  num 
ber  decreasing  to  a  single  warp  when  the  upward  curve  of  the 


Fig-  77  (aiis)-      Strengthening-rod  in  Mortar-basket,  Plate  LXVI,  Fig.  2. 

basket  is  reached.  On  the  mortar-basket  the  same  strength 
ening-rods  are  used  as  among  the  Hupa  and  the  Karok,  and 
in  the  same  manner1  (Fig.  77).  Here,  as  well  as  there,  the 
designs  are  produced  by  overlaying,  the  method  followed 
being  a  double  overlay.  Among  these  supposed  Shasta  bas 
kets,  as  well  as  among  those  of  the  northwestern  type,  open 
work  basket-trays  and  pack-baskets  are  common,  and  in 
both  these  regions  we  find  the  method  of  ornamentation  by 
means  of  dyed  warps  (Plates  LXVIII,  Fig.  i,  and  LXX, 
Figs,  i  and  2).2  In  the  close-twined  baskets  from  Siletz, 
a  double  warp  is  used  instead  of  the  single  warp,  as  in 
California.  Whether  this  is  due  to  difference  of  material, 
or  to  the  influence  of  another  technique,  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  in  the  absence  of  basketry  collections  from  that  portion 


Goddard,  op.  cit.,  Plate  24,  Fig.  i. 
1  Kroeber,  op.  cit.,  Plate  18,  Figs,  i  and  3 


402    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVII, 

of  Oregon.  The  edges  of  the  cooking  and  tray  baskets  obtained 
in  California,  with  one  exception,  are  unfinished,  except  by 
cutting  off  the  warps  closely,  as  in  the  basketry  of  the  region 


F»g-  78  («52«).     Detail  of  Edge  on  Basket,  Plate  LXII,  Fig.  3. 

to  the  west.     One  basket,  however  (Plate  LXII,   Fig.   3), 
shows  an  edge  in  which  the  warps  are  turned  over,  as  in 


Fig-  79  (1053)-    Detail  of  Edge  on  Basket,  Plate  LXII,  Fig.  2. 

Fig.  78.     All  baskets  secured  at  Siletz,  from  the  Shasta  there, 
have  a  somewhat  similar  type  of  edge  (Fig.  79) .  All  open-work 


Fig-  80  (3f2i).     Detail  of  Edge  on  Basket,  Plate  LXIX,  Fig.  i. 

pack-baskets  and  mortar-baskets  also   have   the   warp-rods 
bent  over  and  twined  in,  as  shown  in  Fig.  80. 

The  buckskin   fringes  on  the  women's  skirts  are  wrapped 


1907.] 


OF  THE      ~        \ 

£    UNIVERSITY  } 
\  OF 

^s£4  L  /  FO  R  N  ^&S 

^^r---..--;--itf^^ 

Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


403 


for  the  greater  part  of  their  length  with  grass  (Xerophyllum 
tenax  Nutt.)-  This  wrapping  is  shown  in  Fig.  81.  The 
technique  is  the  same  as  that  employed  by 
the  Hupa. 

Mats  of  reeds  (Plate  LXXI)  were  made  by 
twining  woof-strands  about  the  reed  warps, 
every  three  or  four  inches,  doubling  these 
at  the  sides,  and  finishing  the  ends  of  the  mat 
in  a  braid,  as  shown  in  Fig.  82. 

Feather-Work.  —  As  compared  with  the 
Maidu  and  the  Indians  of  the  Central  Califor- 
nian  area,  or  even  with  the  Hupa,  the  Shasta 
use  of  feathers  was  undeveloped.  In  place 
of  the  many  varieties  of  feather  ornaments 
used  in  ceremonials  by  the  majority  of  Cal 
if  ornian  Indians,  the  Shasta  had  but  few, 
and  these  were  rather  simple.  They  were 
the  feather  band,  worn  either  about  the  head, 
the  wrists,  or  the  shoulders ;  single  decorated 
feathers,  generally  worn  in  the  hair,  or  held 
in  the  hand;  and  single  or  grouped  feathers 
as  fringes  or  pendants.  Occasionally,  also, 
scalps  of  woodpeckers  were  used,  glued  on 
a  strip  of  buckskin. 

Feather  bands  were  in  this  section,  as  a 
rule,  single  (see  Figs.  84,  85,  86,  and  87),  and 
were  made  in  quite  a  different  manner  from 
those  in  use  among  the  Maidu.  The  tech 
nique  of  the  attachment  of  the  feathers  is 
shown  in  Fig.  83.  These  bands,  as  used  for 
young  girls  in  the  puberty  dance,  were  made 
of  blue  jay- feathers  (Fig.  84),  and  formed  a 
strip  from  ten  to  fifteen  centimetres  wide. 
The  wrist-bands  (Figs.  86,  87),  made  usually, 
on  the  other  hand,  of  yellowhammer- feathers,  D?taiiIof3Fnnge 

.  on  Woman  s  Apron, 

were  narrower,  sometimes  with  the  addition      Fig.  92. 

of  one  or  two  bits  of  down,  as  in  Fig.  89.    The  shoulder-bands 

(see  Fig.  85)  also  were  of  yellowhammer- feathers. 


404    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XVI  I, 

The  single  decorated  feathers  (Fig.  88)  consisted  of  a 
single  long  feather  cut  on  either  side  in  zigzags,  about  the 
base  of  which,  and  sometimes  extending  up  for  fully  half  the 
length  of  the  feather,  was  a  mass  of  soft  fluffy  feathers. 


Fig.  82  (3§?0).    Detail  of  Mat,  Plate  LXXI. 

In  addition  to  the  types  of  feather  ornaments  and  feather- 
work  above  described,  there  were  others  in  which  feathers 
constituted  but  a  portion  of  the  decoration,  as,  for  instance, 
on  the  head-bands  worn  by  shamans.  In  these,  the  uses  of 
the  feather  are,  (i)  erect  feathers  attached  to  the  base  of 
the  head-band,  (2)  pendant  feathers  or  feather  tassels,  and 
(3)  stiff  feather  pompons. 


Fig-  83  («S?i).    Detail  of  Feather  Attachment  on  Feather  Band,  Fig.  84. 

An  example  of  the  first  is  shown  in  Fig.  89.  These  are 
fastened  in  position  by  two  cords  which  pass  through  the 
head-band, — one  through  the  quill  near  the  end,  the  other 
around,  just  below  the  web.  Pendant  feathers  were  used 
singly  (attached  to  the  ends  of  lines,  or  at  intervals  along  a 


1907.] 


Dixon.  The  Shasta. 


405 


406   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVJI, 

line)  or  in  groups,  forming  what  might  be  called  tassels  (Fig. 
90) .  In  many  cases  a  feather,  or  more  commonly  two  feathers, 
out  of  a  group,  and  also  single  pendant  feathers,  had  down 
or  a  small  bit  of  fluffy  feather  attached  to  their  bases.  Both 
feathers  and  down  were  attached  to  the  line  by  winding 
with  thread. 


Fig.  86  (3fg8  A).      Wrist-band,  Plain.     Length,  16  cm. 


Fig-  87  (ufSs  B)'      Wrist-band  Decorated  with  Down.    Length,  16  cm. 

Stiff  pompons  were  made  usually  of  yellowhammer-  feath 
ers.  The  feathers  were  attached  to  a  cord,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
83,  and  the  resulting  feather  strip  tightly  coiled  on  itself, 
forming  a  brush- like  pompon,  which  was  affixed  in  a  hori 
zontal  position  to  the  middle  of  the  forehead-band,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  91. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


407 


CLOTHING  AND  PERSONAL  ADORNMENT.  — The  clothing  in 
use  by  the  Shasta 
was  apparently  more 
elaborate  than  that 
in  use  among  the 
Indians  of  Central 
California,  and  it  ap 
proximated  the  type 
worn  by  the  Hupa 
and  other  Indians  of 
the  lower  Klamath. 
There  would  seem  to 
have  been  a  little 
variation  in  their 
dress,  although  the 
differences  were  very 
slight. 

The  men's  costume 
consisted  of  mocca 
sins,  leggings,  breech- 
clout,  and,  at  times, 
a  shirt.  The  mocca 
sins  were  of  buckskin, 
sewed  with  a  single 
straight  seam  up  the 
front,  and  had  a 
heavy  outer  sole  of 
bear  or  elk  hide.  The 
winter  moccasin  dif 
fered  from  the  sum 
mer  one  in  having  the 
buckskin  cut  out  on 
the  sole,  the  bear- hide 
outer  sole  having  the 
fur  left  on,  and  this, 
being  turned  inside, 
brought  the  foot  in 
direct  contact  with  the  warm  fur.  In  other  cases,  the  winter 


Fig.  88 


Feather  Ornament.     Height,  50  cm. 


408   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [ Vo) .  XV 1 1 , 


moccasins  were  simply  made  larger  than  those  worn  in  summer, 
and  the  foot  was  kept  warm  by  wrapping  with  squirrel  or  wild 
cat  skins,  or  by  stuffing  the  moccasin  with  the  long  black  moss 
that  hangs  from  the  trees.  The  seams  of  moccasins  were  often 
painted  red.  The  leggings,  which 
were  of  buckskin,  reached,  so  it  is 
said,  from  the  ankle  to  the  hip,  and 
were  held  up  by  a  belt  passing 
through  straps  or  loops  at  their 
upper  end.  The  leggings  were  often 
fringed  and  beaded  by  the  more 
wealthy.  The  shirt  seems  to  have 
been  often  little  more  than  a  deer- 


89  (i5?3).     Erect  Feather  Attachment. 


.     Detail  of  Feather  Tassels. 


skin  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  although  it  is  declared  that 
a  regular  shirt  of  dressed  buckskin,  with  short  sleeves,  was 
sometimes  worn.  These  shirts  also  had  fringe  at  the  seams. 
During  the  summer,  at  least,  the  men  went  without  any 
covering  for  the  head. 

The  women's  dress,  as  formerly  worn,  is  described  as  con 
sisting  of  moccasins;  two  buckskin  skirts;  a  seed,  pine-nut, 
or  grass  apron;  a  sleeveless  shirt;  and  a  basket- cap.  The 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


409 


moccasins  were  similar  to  those  worn  by  the  men.  The 
buckskin  skirts  were  of  two  types,  one  (being  plain)  con 
sisting  of  a  simple  buckskin  wrapped  around  the  loins  from 
in  front,  and  meeting,  or  nearly  meeting,  behind.  The  other 
skirt  was  of  buckskin,  deeply  fringed  on  both  sides,  the 
fringe  being  covered,  as  a  rule,  with  braided  grass- work,  and 
having  shell  pendants,  beads,  pine- nuts,  etc.,  attached  in  pro 
fusion.  This  ornamental  skirt 
was  doubled  or  folded,  and  put 
on  from  behind,  and  met,  or 
nearly  met,  in  front,  and  was 
worn  over  the  simple,  plain  skirt 
which  meets  at  the  back.  These 
two  skirts  are  very  similar  to 
(almost  identical,  in  fact,  with) 
those  worn  by  the  Hupa  and 
other  lower  Klamath  Indians. 
In  wealth  of  ornamentation, 
however,  the  Shasta  skirts,  as 
a  rule,  fell  behind  those  from 
nearer  the  sea.  Of  course,  these 
elaborate  skirts  were  not  worn 
by  the  women  constantly,  but 
were  donned  for  special  occa 
sions  only.  In  addition  to  these 
two  buckskin  skirts,  the  wo 
men  are  said  also  to  have  worn  a 
third  garment  (in  the  form  of  a 
narrow  apron)  filling  the  space,  or  covering  it,  where  the  orna 
mental  back- skirt  comes  together  in  front.  These  aprons 
(Fig.  92)  were  made  simply  of  long  fringes  filled  with  pine- 
nuts  or  other  seeds,  the  fringe- strands  being  also  often 
covered  with  the  characteristic  braided  covering  of  grass. r 
These  aprons  were  sometimes  double,  as  in  the  figure,  one 
being  worn  in  front  and  one  behind,  with  no  other  clothing. 
By  the  poorer  people,  or  in  summer-time,  a  simple  grass 


pon. 


Fig.  91  (lifts).   Detail  of  Feather  Pom- 
Helt 


ight, 


1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  Plate  8. 


4  I  O  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


Fig.  92  (3i?s)-     Woman's  Apron.     Length,  50  cm.;  width,  24  cm. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


411 


fringe  was  worn  in  this  same  way.  The  shirt,  or  upper 
garment,  seems  to  have  been  much  like  the  men's,  except 
for  the  lack  of  sleeves.  It  was  not  commonly  worn. 
The  basket-cap  was  constantly  worn.  It  was  of  the  hemi- 


Fig.  93  (?§ii).      Snow-shoe.      Length,  48  cm.;  width,  35  cm. 

spherical  shape,  similar  to  those  of  the  Indians  of  the  lower 
Klamath.1  Those  made  by  the  Shasta  themselves  were 
simpler  and  cruder  than  those  obtained  from  the  down-river 
people,  and  for  the  most  part  the  Shasta  relied  on  caps 
obtained  from  them  in  trade. 

i  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  Plates  5,  15,  75.  76. 


4 1  2    Bulletin  A merican  Museu m  of  Natural  History.   [  V o  1 .  X  V 1 1 , 

The  hair  of  the  men  was  allowed  to  grow  long,  and,  as  a 
rule,  was  gathered  on  top  of  the  head,  and  fastened  there  by 
means  of  a  long  bone  pin.  At  other  times,  it  was  allowed 
to  hang  loose.  The  women,  on  the  other  hand,  gathered  the 
hair  in  a  queue  at  each  ear,  and  wrapped  or  tied  it  with  buck 
skin  or  fur  string,  allowing  the  two  queues  to  hang  down  in 
front  of  the  shoulders. 

Snow-shoes  (Fig.  93)  were  worn  by  the  Shasta  in  winter, 
to  a  considerable  extent.  These  were  usually  made,  it  seems, 
of  deer-hide  with  the  hair  left  on,  and  differed  in  the  stringing 
from  those  of  the  Maidu.  The  shoes  used  by  the  Shasta  had 
three  transverse  thongs,  with  three  running  at  right  angles 
to  these,  only  one  of  which,  however,  continued  all  the  way 
across  the  shoe,  the  other  two  being  attached  to  the  three 
cross-thongs. 

Body  decoration  among  the  Shasta  was  not  much  devel 
oped.  Painting  was  but  little  used,  except  by  shamans  and 
by  those  who  were  going  to  war.  Red,  blue,  yellow,  white, 
and  black  were  used  for  these  occasions,  the  two  latter 
colors  being  those  most  used  in  war.  The  colored  paints 
were  obtained  mainly  from  different  clays  or  earths  in  vari 
ous  parts  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the  stock,  although  a 
red  paint  was  also  obtained  from  a  species  of  fungus  grow 
ing  on  fir-trees,  and  a  yellow  from  the  spores  of  a  species  of 
puff-ball,  and  also  from  the  pollen  of  the  hazel,  pine,  etc. 
The  paints  were  applied  with  the  finger,  and  chiefly  to  the 
upper  parts  of  the  body,  in  dots  and  lines,  or  solid  masses. 

Tattooing  as  a  means  of  decoration  was  confined  prac 
tically  to  the  women.  The  ornamentation  was  applied  to 
the  chin  only,  and  consisted  of  three  broad  vertical  marks. 
In  some  cases,  narrower  lines  were  put  in  between  the  broad 
ones,  or  the  outer  lines  were  prolonged  slightly  above  the 
corners  of  the  mouth.  Notched  or  saw-tooth  lines  were  not 
used,  nor  were  lines  ever  made  on  the  cheeks  or  forehead. 
The  tattooing  was  done  when  the  girl  was  about  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age.  The  instrument  used  was  a  small,  sharp  flake 
of  obsidian.  The  operator  was  in  all  cases  an  old  woman 
who  made  tattooing  her  regular  trade,  and  who  was  paid  for 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


the  work,  when  done,  by  the  father  of  the  girl.  With  the 
sharp  flake,  shallow  parallel  cuts  were  made  close  together, 
and  then  the  coloring-material,  either  charcoal  or  blue-  clay, 
was  rubbed  in.  The  whole  chin  was  .tattooed  at  once,  and, 
unless  the  lines  were  not  dark  enough,  was  not  gone  over 
again.  Throughout  the  night  on  which  the  tattooing  was 
done,  the  girl  was  not  allowed  to  sleep  much,  and  whatever 
she  dreamed  was  bound  to  come  true.  Her  dreams  were 
always  told  to  her  mother.  Men  generally  had  a  few  short 
lines  tattooed  on  their  hands  and  arms,  not  for  decoration, 
but  to  serve  as  measures  for  dentalia,  beads,  etc. 

Ornaments  worn  consisted  chiefly  of  beads  and  shells. 
The  common  disk-shaped  white  bead  and  small  shells  were 
much  used  for  necklaces,  ear-pendants,  etc.  Abalone  was 
also  used  to  some  extent,  although  not  as  commonly  as 
lower  down  the  river.  Pine-nuts  were  often  used  for  neck 
laces,  as  in  Fig.  94.  Feathers  were  occasionally  stuck  in  the 
ears  and  nose  (perforated  for  that  purpose)  ,  or  long  dentalia 
were  worn  sometimes  in  the  latter  orifice,  and  pendant  in 
groups  from  the  ears. 

A  peculiar  type  of  belt  (Fig.  95)  was  worn  by  women  at  times. 
The  belt  is  formed  of  a  coil  of  fine  hair  braids.  Formerly 
these  were  of  human  hair,  but  now  they  are  usually  of  horse 
hair.  This  coil  is  flattened  in  the  central  portion,  and  held 
in  this  position  by  a  zigzag  intertwining  of  narrow  buckskin 
thongs.  At  the  ends,  the  coil  is  gathered  into  a  round  loop, 
closely  wound,  and  beaded.  To  the  belt  are  attached  aba- 
lone  disks  or  pendants,  small  shells,  beads,  or  elk-  teeth.  My 
informant  was  not  clear  as  to  the  early  uses  of  such  belts, 
which  now  seem  to  be  worn  chiefly  for  ornament;  but  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  in  origin  they  were  similar  to  the  mourning- 
belts  made  by  the  Achoma'wi  widows  or  widowers,  of  the 
hair  cut  off  in  mourning. 

DWELLINGS  AND  HOUSEHOLD  UTENSILS.  —  The  Shasta  were 
accustomed  to  build  two  sorts  of  houses,  differing  consider 
ably  in  construction  and  use.  These  were  the  dwelling-house 
(u'mma)  and  the  sweat  or  big  house  (o'kwa'umma).  The 
dwelling  house  was  occupied  only  during  the  winter  months, 


414   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [  Vol .  XVII 


Fig.  94  (i!8i).      Necklace  of  Pine-nuts.      Length,  54  cm. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


415 


416   Btdletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


being  abandoned  for  the  brush  shelter  (klupixasai'duk)  in 
the  summer.  None  of  the  old  type  of  either  the  dwelling- 
house  or  sweat-house  now  remain,  and  the  following  descrip 
tion  is  based  entirely  on  accounts  and  partial  models. 

In  the   construction  of  the   dwelling-house   (Fig.   96)    an 
excavation  was  first  made,  generally  rectangular  or  slightly 

oval,  averaging  about 

0  6  &'  /*        ^ve  me'tres  by  six  or 

seven,  with  a  depth  of 
not  over  one  metre 
at  the  outside.  At 
either  end  of  the  ex 
cavation  a  pair  of 
forked  posts  (a,  b  and 
b,  b')  were  set  up,  the 
posts  being  from  four 
to  five  metres  high, 
and  set  just  inside 
the  wall  of  the  exca 
vation.  Then,  in  each 
corner  of  the  pit, 
single  forked  posts  (c, 
d,  e,  f)  were  set,  these 
posts  being  only  from 
a  metre  to  a  metre 
and  a  half  in  height, 
and  also  set  just  in 
side  the  wall.  From 
a  to  b  and  from  b  to 
&',  two  parallel  ridge- 


Ct         O 

Fig.  96.      Plan  of  a  House. 


C 


poles  were  then  run,  and  likewise  a  pole  from  c  to  /  and 
from  d  to  e;  these  latter  side-poles  being  but  about  half  a 
metre  above  the  edge  of  the  excavation.  The  earth  dug 
out  in  making  the  pit  was  next  piled  up  along  the 
edges  of  the  pit,  forming  a  wall,  which  extended  up  to 
the  side-poles  just  mentioned.  The  walls  of  the  excavation 
were  next  covered  by  slabs  of  cedar-bark  set  vertically  on 
edge  all  around  the  sides,  and  reaching  from  the  ground 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  417 

to  the  side-poles.  Finally  the  roof  was  put  on,  consisting  of 
cedar  or  sugar- pine  boards  (split  out  with  wedges)  run 
ning  from  the  side-poles  to  the  two  ridge-poles.  The  roof- 
boards  met  in  a  peak  between  the  two  ridge-poles,  except 
for  a  space  in  the  centre,  where  a  smoke-hole  was  left.  They 
also  often  extended  a  little  beyond  the  side-poles,  forming 
eaves,  which  protected  the  earthen  walls.  Sometimes  the 
construction  differed  in  that  a  side-wall  of  boards  was  first 
laid  from  the  ground  to  the  side-poles,  and  the  earth  from 
the  excavation  piled  against  this,  the  roof  then  being  put  on 
as  just  described.  The  ends  of  the  house  were  formed  by 
setting  boards  on  end,  almost  vertically.  Between  the  two 
posts  (b,  b')  holding  up  the  two  ridge-poles  at  one  end  of  the 
house,  a  cross-bar  was  firmly  tied  with  grape-vine,  about  a 
metre  or  a  little  more  above  the  level  of  the  ground  outside ; 
and  on  this  cross-bar  the  lower  ends  of  the  boards  forming 
the  end-wall  between  the  two  posts  rested.  The  boards 
forming  the  end- walls  were  firmly  tied  to  the  posts,  as  were 
also  the  ridge  and  side  poles.  The  space  below  the  cross 
bar  formed  the  door.  The  opening  was  usually  closed  by 
a  heavy  mat  of  rushes  hanging  from  the  cross-bar.  It  was 
quite  common,  apparently,  to  have  the  ridge  and  side  poles 
project  from  a  metre  to  a  metre  and  a  half  beyond  the  end- 
wall  of  the  house,  at  the  end  where  the  door  was  situated. 
On  these  the  roof  was  extended  and  a  second  rough  end- wall 
built,  forming  in  this  way  a  sort  of  "storm- porch,"  to  which 
the  entrance  was  always  at  the  extreme  corner,  and  unpro 
vided  with  any  mat  or  other  means  of  closing.  By  placing 
the  outer  door  at  the  corner  thus,  all  direct  draught  into  the 
house  was  stopped.  This  porch  served  to  keep  out  cold  and 
wind,  and  also  formed  a  convenient  storehouse  for  firewood, 
nets,  spears,  etc.  Inside  the  inner  door,  a  further  protection 
was  erected  against  draughts,  by  setting  up  boards  on  end  to 
form  two  parallel,  walls  reaching  from  the  ground  to  the 
roof,  and  extending  out  from  the  doorway  on  either  side,  a 
metre  or  more,  toward  the  centre  of  the  house. 

In  the  centre  of  the  house-floor,   which  was  of    beaten 
earth,  was  the    fireplace,  —  a  circular  area  a  metre  or  so  in 

[August,  1907.]  27 


41 8   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

diameter,  sunk  from  fifteen  to  twenty  centimetres  below  the 
general  level,  and  rimmed  with  stones.  Around  the  sides  of 
the  house  were  the  sleeping-places.  For  these,  the  ground 
was  first  levelled  and  stamped.  A  thick  layer  of  pine-needles 
was  then  laid  down,  and  on  this  mats  were  spread.  This  sleep 
ing  and  lounging  place  extended  back  from  the  fire,  on  all  four 
sides,  to  within  half  a  metre  of  the  walls  of  the  house.  At  this 
point,  a  heavy  board,  about  fifty  centimetres  in  width,  was 
set  up  on  edge,  and  held  in  position  by  stakes.  The  space 
between  this  board  and  the  wall  formed  thus  a  sort  of  "man- 


4|p%^ 

Fig.  97.      Vertical  Section  of  a  House. 

ger"  at  the  head  of  a  person  lying  feet  to  the  fire;  and  in  this 
place  each  person  kept  his  or  her  personal  property  in  the 
way  of  clothing,  food,  etc.  A  vertical  section  of  a  house 
is  shown  in  Fig.  97,  and  will  illustrate  the  position  of  this 
storage-place. 

The  dwelling-house  was  often  occupied  by  more  than  one 
family;  but,  when  this  was  the  case,  the  families  were  always 
closely  related,  and  each  occupied  one  side  or  portion  of  the 
house.  The  only  furniture  in  the  house  consisted  of  pillows, 
formed  of  wooden  blocks  slightly  hollowed  out  on  top,  and 
apparently  closely  similar  to  those  described  by  Goddard  as 
in  use  among  the  Hupa.1  Stools,  consisting  simply  of  a  block 
of  wood  of  variable  size  and  form,  were  also  in  use. 

The  sweat-house  —  variously  known  as  "big-house,"  "dance- 
house,"  and  "  sweat-house"  —was  somewhat  differently  built. 
The  excavation  made  for  this  type  of  house  was  larger  and 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  p.  17. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  419 


deeper,  being,  as  a  rule,  from  six  to  eight  metres  wide,  and  ten 
or  twelve  long,  with  a  depth  of  about  two  metres.  At  each 
corner  of  the  excavation,  forked  posts  were  set  up,  as  in  the 
u'mma;  but,  in  place  of  the  two  pairs  of  posts  supporting  the 
two  ridge-poles,  in  the  latter  case  a  single  very  heavy  post 
(about  four  metres  long)  was  set  at  each  end  of  the  pit,  and  a 
third  post  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  house.  A  single  ridge 
pole  was  then  laid  on  these  three  posts,  and  the  side-poles 
arranged  as  before.  As  in  the  case  of  the  ii'mma,  cedar-bark 
was  used  to  face  the  walls  of  the  pit,  and  the  roof  was  made 
of  boards,  but  in  this  case  had  very  much  less  pitch  than  in 
the  dwelling-house,  being  in  fact,  in  some  instances,  almost 
flat,  the  corner-posts  being  higher  proportionally  to  the  centre- 
posts  than  in  the  case  of  the  dwelling-house.  The  roof  being 
completed,  a  layer  of  pine-needles  was  laid  on  it,  and  then 
earth  spread  over  the  whole,  except  at  the  smoke-hole,  to  a 
depth  of  fifteen  or  twenty  centimetres.  The  end- walls  of  the 
structure  were  made  as  in  the  dwelling-house,  except  that 
both  ends  were  alike,  there  being  no  cross-bar  at  the  door- 
end.  The  door  was  in  this  case  formed  by  cutting  out  a  hole 
in  one  of  the  end-planks,  the  hole  being  either  round  or  square 
and  usually  not  over  sixty  or  seventy  centimetres  in  diameter. 
This  doorway  opened  one  side  or  the  other  of  the  heavy 
post  supporting  the  ridge-pole;  and  a  ladder,  consisting  of  a 
notched  madrone-log,  led  very  steeply  down  from  this  door 
to  the  floor  of  the  house.  Under  this  ladder,  and  between  it 
and  the  wall,  fire- wood  was  often  stacked.  The  door-opening 
was  closed  by  a  sliding  board  on  the  inside.  The  smoke- 
hole  also  could  be  closed  quite  tightly  by  sliding  a  board 
over  it,  by  means  of  a  pole.  In  the  centre  of  the  house,  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  central  post  (which  is  usually  a  little 
nearer  the  door  than  the  exact  centre  of  the  house) ,  was  the 
fireplace,  made  like  that  in  the  dwelling-house.  Often  the 
whole  floor  of  the  house  was  floored  with  split  boards,  while 
in  other  cases  the  floor  was  simply  of  stamped  or  even  of 
baked  clay. 

The  sweat- house  was  built  only  where  there  was  a  village 
of  several  families,  and  was  constructed  by  the  common  labor 


4  2  O   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [  Vol .  XV 1 1 , 

of  all.  When  completed,  it  belonged  to  the  head  man  of  the 
village,  although  all  men  who  aided  in  the  building  had 
certain  rights  in  it.  The  leader  or  chief  never  lived  in  the 
o'kwa'umma,  except  that,  if  a  large  gathering  of  people  took 
place  for  any  reason,  he  might  temporarily  vacate  his  own 
dwelling-house  for  the  use  of  the  guests,  and  take  up  his 
quarters  for  the  time  being  in  the  sweat-house.  So  far  as 
has  been  ascertained,  there  were  no  important  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  construction  of  the  structure.  It  was  used 
for  gatherings  of  various  sorts,  gambling,  etc.,  but  chiefly  as 
a  general  place  of  resort  for  the  men  of  the  village,  they  using 
it  as  a  regular  sleeping-place  throughout  the  winter,  only  the 
women  and  children  occupying  the  dwelling-house.  In  the 
making  of  the  fire  in  this  building,  oak  was  chiefly  used. 
When  it  was  reduced  to  a  bed  of  coals,  the  smoke-hole  would 
be  closed,  and  ashes  raked  over  the  fire;  and  then  all  the  in 
mates  slept  naked,  owing  to  the  high  temperature.  In  case 
of  the  death  of  a  village  head  man,  if  he  left  no  brothers  or 
children  to  inherit  the  house,  the  sweat-house  was  burned. 

Sudatories  proper  were  small  affairs,  roughly  hemispherical 
in  form,  built  of  willow  poles  planted  in  the  ground,  bent 
over,  and  tied.  Yellow-pine  bark  slabs  were  set  up  on  edge 
outside,  forming  walls,  and  the  remainder  of  the  structure 
was  covered  over  with  skins.  An  opening  just  large  enough 
to  crawl  through  was  left  on  one  side.  These  sudatories 
were  usually  family  property,  and  were  located  near  the  edge 
of  a  stream. 

Menstrual  lodges  were  in  construction  and  shape  like  the 
dwelling-house,  but  small,  and  very  roughly  made,  accommo 
dating  at  most  two  or  three  persons  at  one  time.  The  summer 
brush- shelter  was  little  more  than  a  fence  of  brush,  three  or 
four  metres  high,  with  no  roof  or  cover  of  any  description. 
It  was  roughly  circular  in  outline,  and  had  two  openings  at 
opposite  sides. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  from  the  above  descriptions,  that 
the  houses  of  the  Shasta  were,  as  compared  with  those  of 
the  Indians  of  Central  California  (of  which  the  Maidu  may 
be  taken  as  an  example),  of  radically  different  construction- 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  421 

There  is  no  trace  here  of  the  circular  type,  with  its  radial 
rafters  and  entrance-porch;  and,  moreover,  the  functions  of 
the  sweat-house  (6'kwa'umma)  among  the  Shasta  are  quite 
unlike  those  of  the  dance-house  (kum)  of  the  Maidu,  for  ex 
ample;  for  in  the  latter  case  the  primary  use  of  the  structure 
is  ceremonial,  and  it  is  only  secondarily  a  general  lounging 
and  sleeping  place  for  the  men.  The  Shasta  house-types,  on 
the  other  hand,  resemble  far  more  those  of  the  Indians  of 
the  lower  Klamath  and  Trinity  (the  Karok,  Yurok,  and  Hupa) , 
who  are  the  representatives  of  the  culture  of  Northwestern 
California  in  its  best  developed  form.  With  these,  however, 
the  agreement  is  not  complete.1  It  is  close  enough,  however, 
to  lead  us  to  regard  the  Shasta,  in  so  far  as  their  houses  are 
concerned,  as  allied  rather  to  this  Northwestern  than  to  the 
Central  Calif ornian  culture. 

The  dwelling  and  sweat  houses  were  occupied,  as  a  rule, 
only  for  about  five  months  in  the  year.  In  the  spring,  when 
certain  plants  had  grown  to  a  certain  height,  these  winter 
houses  were  abandoned,  and  all  the  people  went  up  into  the 
mountains,  and  lived  during  the  summer  in  the  open,  roof 
less  brush- shelters.  When,  in  the  fall,  the  berries  had  been 
picked  and  dried,  and  a  supply  of  dried  venison  laid  in  for 
the  winter,  they  returned  to  the  villages  (left  in  charge, 
usually,  of  a  few  old  persons),  cleaned  out  the  houses,  and 
settled  down  for  the  winter  again. 

The  sites  chosen  for  villages  were  generally  on  the  banks 
of  streams.  Along  the  Klamath,  the  position  most  favored 
was  at  the  mouth  of  some  small  creek  coming  into  the  main 
river,  and  forming  a  small  flat  or  delta.  In  Scott  and  Shasta 
Valleys,  the  villages  were  usually  at  the  edge  of  the  valley, 
near  the  base  of  the  hills,  where  a  small  stream  came  down 
out  of  the  mountains. 

The  size  of  the  villages  would  seem  to  have  been,  on  the 
whole,  small.  Many  of  the  settlements  along  the  Klamath, 
for  example,  consisted  of  not  more  than  two  or  three  families, 
and  there  were  but  few  villages  here  of  any  size.  The  Shasta 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  pp.  13-18. 


422    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII, 

and  Scott  Valley  settlements  may,  perhaps,  have  been  some 
what  larger,  although  it  is  difficult  to  secure  any  definite 
information  on  this  point.  Gibbs's  estimate  of  sixty  persons 
as  the  average  in  a  village  is,  I  believe,  a  little  too  large. 

The  interior  furnishing  of  the  houses  has  already  been 
referred  to,  and  it  only  remains  to  speak  of  the  varieties  of 
baskets  and  other  household  utensils.  For  storage  of  acorns 
and  dried  meat,  large  baskets,  conical  in  shape  and  of  open 
work  structure,  were  much  used  (Plate  LXIX).  The  basket 
was  first  lined  with  a  mat  or  layer  of  maple-leaves,  made  by 
weaving  the  long  stems  of  the  leaves  through  the  leaves 
and  tying  them,  in  this  manner  forming  an  even,  almost 
water-tight,  lining.  Dried  salmon  in  powdered  form  was 
kept,  as  were  also  the  powdered  bones,  in  deep  baskets  of 
tule  with  a  tight-  fitting  cover.  These  baskets,  or  soft  sacks, 
were  cylindrical,  and  have  now  gone  entirely  out  of  use. 
Deer-  fat  was  also  kept  in  similar  baskets. 

For  cooking,  globular  baskets  were  chiefly  in  use,  although 
a  more  conical  shape  was  occasionally  employed.  As  a  rule, 
the  only  sort  of  platter-baskets  in  use  were  the  open-work 
ones  (Plates  LXVIII,  Fig.  i,  and  LXX,  Fig.  2);  these  being 
in  use  for  meat  and  fish.  Burden-baskets  were  usually  of  the 
open-work  type  (Plate  LXIX)  .  In  the  manufacture  of  acorn- 
meal,  the  milling-basket  (Plates  LXIII,  LXVI)  was  generally 
used.  The  meal  was  sifted  on  a  platter-basket  or  tray  like 
that  figured  by  Goddard.1  The  brush  used  to  brush  off  the 
fine  meal  from  the  tray  (Fig.  98)  was  made  of  the  soaproot- 
fibre  (Chlorogallum  pomeridianum  Kunth),  but  was  different 
in  form  from  the  brushes  used  by  the  Maidu,  for  example.2 

The  Shasta  used,  in  the  stirring  of  their  acorn-  soup,  a  mush- 
paddle  somewhat  like  those  used  by  the  Indians  lower  down 
the  river,3  but  less  carefully  ma_de,  and  with  but  little  orna 
mentation  in  the  way  of  carving. 

In  fire-making,  the  simple  fire-drill  (Fig.  99)  was  in  use, 
essentially  similar  to  that  used  by  most  of  the  Californian 
peoples. 


\  R0^^'  op>  cJt-  Plate  24-'  Fig-  2>  2  See  P-  l85-  FiS-  46  6,  of  this  volume. 

3  Uoddard,  op.  cit.,  p.  29.  Fig.  3. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  423 

FOOD  AND  ITS  PREPARATION.  —  The  food-supply  of  the 
Shasta  was  abundant  and  varied.  Although  depending  on 
the  acorn  to  a  large  extent,  other  foods,  in  particular  salmon, 
played  proportionally  a  greater  part  here  than  among  the 
Maidu  and  other  Central  Californian  peoples,  but  not  as 
great,  on  the  whole,  as  among  the  Indians  of  the  lower 
Klamath. 

The  acorns  of  most  of  the  species  of  oaks  growing  in  the 
region  were  eaten.  Some  were,  however,  much  preferred  to 
others,  the  order  of  preference  being  black  oak  (Quercus 
calif  ornica  Cooper),  white  oak  (Quercus  Garry  ana  Dougl.). 
and  live-oak  (Quercus  chrysolepis  Liebm.).  The  acorns  of 


Fig.  98  (g? gg).      Meal-brush.      Length,  12  cm. 

the  tan  oak  (Quercus  densiflora  Hook,  and  Arn.),  growing 
only  in  quantity  farther  down  the  Klamath  River  than  the 
section  occupied  by  the  Shasta,  were,  however,  by  many  con 
sidered  superior  to  any  of  the  local  species.  Besides  acorns, 
several  other  varieties  of  nuts  were  used  for  food.  Pine-nuts 
from  the  digger-pine  (Pinus  Sabiniana  Dougl.),  the  sugar- 
pine  (Pinus  Lambertiana  Dougl.),  and  the  yellow  pine  (Pinus 
ponderosa  Dougl.),  were  always  in  demand;  and  hazel-nuts 
(C-orylus  rostrata  Ait.,  var.  calif  ornica  A.  D.  C.)  were  gathered 
in  considerable  quantities  in  the  mountains. 

Berries  and  fruits  were  in  abundance.     Manzanita-berries 
(Arctostaphylos  Manzanita  Parry)    grew  in  great  quantities 


424   Bulletin  A merican  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [  Vo  1 .  X  V 1 1 , 


and  were  used  to  make  the  well-known  "manzanita-cider." 
Blackberries  (Rubus  vitifolius  C.  and  S.?),  service-berries 
(Amelanchier  pallida  Greene),  elderberries 
(Sambucus  glauca  Nutt.),  gooseberries  (Ribes 
sp.),  thimbleberries  (Rubus  glaucif  olius 
Greene),  choke- cherries  (Prunus  demissa 
Walpers),  the  fruit  of  the  sumach  (Rkus 
trilobata  Nutt.,  var.  quinata  Jepson),  and  a 
number  of  other  fruits  and  berries  as  yet  un 
identified,  were  eaten  either  fresh  or  dried. 

Roots  and  bulbs  seem  to  have  formed  a 
rather  smaller  portion  of  the  food-supply 
here  than  in  the  central  part  of  the  State, 
although  camass  (Camassia  esculenta  Lindl.) 
and  "ipos"  (Calochortus  sp.),  with  one  or 
two  other  roots  and  bulbs,  were  eaten  to  a 
considerable  extent. 

Seeds  of  several  varieties  were  eaten,  and 
the  Shasta  were  fond  of  a  number  of  sorts  of 
" greens."  The  gum  of  the  milkweed  (Ascle- 
pias  cordifolia  Benth.?)  was  chewed,  and 
the  thin  inner  bark  of  the  yellow  pine  was 
scraped  off  with  bone  scrapers,  and  eaten  in 
the  spring.  The  sugar  from  the  sugar-pine 
was  also  sparingly  eaten.  No  teas  or  aromatic 
infusions  seem  to  have  been  used. 

Although  salmon  formed  a  large  part  of 
the  food-supply  of  the  Shasta,  game  of 
various  sorts  was  also  a  considerable  factor. 
The  mountains  abounded  in  deer  and  elk; 
the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  was  found  here 
and  there;  and  in  the  more  open  sections, 
such  as  Shasta  Valley,  antelope  were  plenty. 
Bears  were  hunted  for  food,  and  were  quite 
numerous  throughout  the  area.  The  moun 
tain-lion  and  wild-cat  were  also  eaten,  and 
small  game  — such  as  rabbits,  squirrels,  etc.  —  was  abundant. 
Coyotes,  dogs,  and  snakes  were  not  eaten.  Birds,  in  parti- 


Fig.  99  (S«BA-B). 
Fire-drill.  Length 
of  hearth,  62  cm. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  425 

cular  ducks  and  geese,  were  abundant  in  places,  and  much 
sought  for.  Angle- worms,  grasshoppers,  and  locusts  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  eaten  to  any  extent. 

Of  fish,  the  salmon  was  by  far  the  most  important,  all 
varieties  which  frequented  the  rivers  being  eaten.  Trout, 
suckers,  and  eels  were  also  in  demand,  as  well  as  crawfish  and 
turtles.  Mussels  were  not  to  be  had  in  any  large  quantity, 
but  were  relished  when  procurable.  The  bones  of  salmon 
and  also  of  the  deer  were  pounded  fine,  and  used  considerably 
for  food. 

The  gathering  and  preparation  of  acorns  as  practised  by 
the  Shasta  followed  practically  the  same  lines  as  among  the 
Maidu.  Inasmuch  as  these  operations  have  been  fully 
described  in  treating  of  that  stock,1  only  such  features  of 
the  work  as  differ  among  the  Shasta  need  be  discussed  here. 
The  acorns  of  the  black  oak  were  gathered,  cracked,  hulled, 
and  dried  in  practically  the  same  manner  as  among  the  Maidu. 
The  thin  membrane  covering  the  meat  of  the  nut  was  then 
rubbed  off  with  the  hand,  and  the  meats  then  reduced  to  meal ; 
the  chief  difference  in  this  latter  process  here  being  the 
almost  universal  use  of  the  mortar-basket.  As  in  the  case 
of  the  Maidu,  only  flat  stones  appear  to  have  been  used  to 
pound  on.  In  winnowing  the  meal  and  sifting  it,  it  was  held 
on  a  flat  platter  or  tray  basket  held  at  an  arfgle,  and  shaken 
with  the  right  hand.  The  extraction  of  the  bitter  principle 
followed  slightly  different  lines.  The  woman  prepared  a 
small  scaffold  or  platform  of  sticks  (some  fifteen  to  thirty 
centimetres  above  the  ground)  resting  either  on  forked 
sticks  or  on  stones.  On  this  a  layer  of  pine-needles  was  placed, 
followed  by  a  layer  of  sand,  made  thicker  at  the  edges  to 
form  a  basin.  The  meal,  in  a  layer  about  five  centimetres 
thick,  was  spread  over  this,  and  warm  water  poured  on,  as  in 
the  region  of  Central  California.  When  completely  leached, 
the  meal  was  allowed  to  drain  for  a  time,  and  then  the  hand  was 
slapped  down  on  the  wet  dough,  which  adhered  to  the  hand 
as  it  was  lifted.  The  sand  was  next  carefully  washed  off  of  the 

1  See  pp.  184-187  of  this  volume. 


426  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History .  [Vol.  XVII, 

under  side  of  the  piece  of  dough  by  putting  hand  and  all  into 
a  basket  full  of  warm  water,  and  then  the  cleaned  sweet  dough 
was  put  into  another  basket  with  water,  and  was  ready  for 
the  final  cooking.  Where  the  acorns  were  plenty,  the  dough, 
after  cleaning,  was  often  dried,  and  in  that  form  traded  to 
other  villages  where  the  acorn- crop  was  not  so  plentiful. 
It  is  said  that  this  dried  acorn-paste  formed  a  considerable 
article  of  trade  with  the  Rogue  River  people  in  Oregon. 

Acorn-soup  was  made  here  precisely  as  among  the  Maidu, 
except  that  a  more  or  less  ornamental  mush- paddle,  about 
sixty  centimetres  in  length,  was  used  to  stir  it  with.  The 
stones  used  for  cooking  were,  as  a  rule,  of  a  porphyritic  or 
close-grained  igneous  rock,  selected  because  it  did  not  splin 
ter  or  disintegrate  when  heated  and  suddenly  cooled.  The 
acorn-bread  of  the  Shasta  differed  from  that  of  the  Maidu 
in  that  it  was  made  into  small  cakes,  and  baked  on  a  flat  rock 
slanted  up  in  front  of  the  fire.  These  cakes  were,  moreover, 
generally  eaten  with  salt. 

The  acorns  of  the  white  oak  were  prepared  and  cooked  in  the 
same  manner  as  those  of  the  black  oak ;  but  they  made  a  more 
slimy,  glutinous  mixture,  which  was  not  as  well  liked.  Live- 
oak  acorns  were  prepared  by  being  buried  whole  in  the  mud 
for  some  weeks,  till  they  turned  black.  They  were  then  dug 
up,  cracked,  and  boiled  whole,  without  being  made  into  meal. 
They  were  also  sometimes  roasted  in  the  ashes  without  any 
preliminary  burying  or  boiling. 

Manzanita-berries  were  crushed,  and  used  to  make  man- 
zanita-cider  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  described  among  the 
Maidu.1  The  winnowed  meal  was  also  mixed  with  the  acorn- 
meal  in  making  a  special  variety  of  the  acorn- soup.  Sugar- 
pine  nuts  were  steamed  in  an  earthen  oven.  This  was  made 
by  digging  a  hole,  building  a  fire  in  it  and  heating  stones. 
The  fire  was  then  raked  out,  some  of  the  hot  stones  put  in, 
and  the  nuts,  wrapped  in  leaves,  were  laid  thereon.  Water 
was  then  poured  in,  more  hot  stones  placed  on  top,  and  fi 
nally  earth  laid  over  the  whole,  which  was  allowed  to  steam 

1  See  p.  189  of  this  volume. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  427 


for  several  hours.  The  nuts  were  then  dried,  and  stored  for 
use.  When  wanted,  they  were  pounded  fine,  winnowed,  and 
made  into  small  cakes.  Powdered  pine-nuts  prepared  in  this 
manner  were  also  often  mixed  with  the  powdered  salmon. 
Service-berries  and  several  other-  sorts  of  berries  were  dried, 
and  kept  for  winter  use. 

Salmon  was  prepared  in  much  the  same  way  as  among  the 
Maidu.  The  fish  were  split,  and  held  open  by  a  small  twig 
thrust  through  the  fish,  and  in  this  shape  smoked  and  dried. 
The  bones  were  then  removed,  and  the  dried  fish  rubbed  to 
powder  between  the  hands.  In  this  form  it  was  packed  in 
leaf-lined  baskets,  and  stored.  It  was  eaten  dry,  with  a 
spoon.  Another  common  method  of  preparing  salmon  was 
to  skin  the  fish,  leaving  a  layer  of  meat  (about  a  centimetre 
in  thickness)  adhering  to  the  skin.  A  slice  of  clear  meat  was 
then  taken  off  each  side  of  the  fish,  leaving  the  backbone 
and  the  rest  of  the  meat  as  a  residue.  The  skin,  the  slices 
of  clear  meat,  and  the  backbone- piece  were  then  dried  and 
smoked  separately;  the  slices  being  kept  in  that  form,  with 
out  powdering,  in  ordinary  baskets,  without  any  leaf-lining. 
In  cutting  up  salmon  for  immediate  use,  a  cut  was  first 
made  from  the  vent,  completely  around  the  body,  severing 
the  tail.  Then  a  second  cut  was  made,  along  both  sides  of 
the  fish  from  tail  to  head,  following  the  line  on  the  fish's 
skin,  thus  separating  the  belly  portion  from  the  back;  but 
these  regulations  did  not  apply  to  the  dog-salmon,  however. 
Salmon-heads  were  crushed,  and  made  into  cakes,  which  .were 
used  as  a  concentrated  food  on  hunting-trips  in  winter. 

Deer  and  bear  meat  was  dried,  the  deer-bones  being  pounded 
up  for  use  in  making  soup  in  the  winter- time.  Salt  was 
regarded  as  a  luxury,  and  was  obtained  chiefly  from  the  tribes 
of  the  lower  Klamath. 

Meat  was  cooked  by  boiling  or  roasting.  Bear-meat  was 
dried  somewhat  differently  from  deer-meat,  being  cut  into 
long  strips,  cooked  in  boiling  water,  and  then  dried.  In  such 
cases,  the  whole  animal  was  generally  rolled  on  to  the  fire, 
to  singe  off  the  fur  before  being  cut  up.  In  other  cases,  the 
bear  would  be  skinned,  leaving  all  the  fat  possible  on  the  hide. 


428    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII, 


Ropes  or  sticks  were  then  fastened  to  the  hide  (to  the 
legs  and  sides,  each  man  holding  a  rope  or  stick),  and  the 
hide  was  held  over  the  fire.  As  the  hair  burned  off,  the  hide 
began  to  shrink;  then,  when  all  the  hair  was  gone,  the  hide 
was  cut  up,  each  person  who  held  a  rope  getting  a  share.  The 
skin  and  fat  adhering  were  then  roasted,  and  eaten.  Grizzly- 
bear  meat  when  eaten  must  never  be  tossed  from  one  person 
to  another,  but  carefully  handed  about.  Failure  to  do  this 
would  lead  to  the  offender  being  attacked  by  grizzlies. 

HUNTING  AND  FISHING.  — Salmon  were  caught  by  weirs, 
by  nets,  and  by  a  sort  of  driving.  The  fish  weir  or  dam  was 
constructed  always  in  a  shallow,  gravelly  spot.  A  row  of 
stakes  was  driven,  slanting  slightly  down- stream;  the  stakes 
being  set  pretty  close  together.  At  water-level,  a  horizontal 
pole  was  tied  firmly  to  the  stakes  with  withes,  being  placed 
on  the  up-stream  side.  This  horizontal  pole  was  then  guyed 
at  either  end,  up-stream  to  the  shore,  by  long  grape-vines. 
Brush  was  then  laid  on  the  stakes  on  the  up-stream  side,  and 
weighted  with  stones  at  the  bottom.  Here  and  there  open 
ings  were  left,  and  in  these,  long  willow  fish- traps  were  placed. 
Sometimes,  where  a  stream  was  very  swift,  cribs  weighted  with 
stones  were  built  on  the  down- stream  side,  in  the  centre,  for 
additional  support.  Large  dams  of  this  character  were  few 
in  number,  there  having  been,  it  is  said,  but  three  on  the  Kla- 
math  River,  within  Shasta  territory.  One  of  these  was  at  the 
mouth  of  Shasta  River,  one  at  Scott  River,  and  one  at  Happy 
Camp.  Each  belonged  to  one  or  two  men.  Any  one,  however, 
could  come  and  spear  fish  at  such  a  dam,  and  the  owners  were 
obliged  to  give  to  any  one  who  asked  for  them  as  many  fish 
as  he  could  carry. 

The  net  used  mainly  by  the  Shasta  was  a  very  ingenious 
one,  and  was  much  used  also  by  the  other  Indians  of  this 
whole  region,  and  it  is  still  used  to-day.  A  point  in  the  river 
is  first  selected,  where  there  is  a  strong  eddy,  in  which  the 
salmon  are  likely  to  rest  as  they  ascend  the  stream.  A  plat 
form  is  then  built  out  from  the  bank,  raised  about  a  metre 
from  the  water-level.  Three  straight,  slender  poles  are  next 
prepared,  and  tied  together  to  form  an  isosceles  triangle,  as 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


429 


shown  in  Fig.  100.  A  second  cross-bar  (gh)  is  then  attached, 
the  distance  between  h  and  /  being  equal  to  the  height  of  the 
man's  waist  from  the  ground.  Generally  a  third  cross-piece 
(if)  is  added  for  further  strength.  A  net  in  the  form  of  a 
conical  bag  is  then  firmly  tied  to  ef  and  gh  and  to  the  portions 
of  ab  and  cd  between  these.  At  x,  a  strong  loop  of  grape-vine 
is  attached  to  the  pole  ab,  this  loop  being  arranged  to  slide 
up  andljdown  on  a  vertical  pole  (Fig.  101,  y)  set  up  at  one 
side  of  the  platform.  This  pole  is  cut  off  at  such  a  height  that, 


Fig.  100.      Fishing-net. 

when  the  man  stands  on  the  platform  and  takes  the  net- 
frame  by  the  cross-bar  if,  raising  the  bar  as  high  as  his  waist, 
the  loop  slides  off  the  top  of  the  pole,  thus  enabling  the  fish 
erman  to  lift  the  whole  net  and  contents  to  the  platform. 
This  pole,  with  the  sliding  loop,  holds  the  net,  from  its  shore- 
side,  against  the  back-set  of  the  eddy-current,  the  outer  side 
being  held  by  a  grape-vine  rope  (some  ten  or  fifteen  metres 
long)  attached  at  n,  and  running  down-stream,  where  it  is 
tied  to  a  tree  or  stake  /  on  the  shore.  Thus  the  man  standing 


43°  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


Fi.4  101.  Sketch  showing 
the  Manner  of  Operating  a 
Fish-net. 


on  the  platform  can  lower  his  net  vertically  into  the  water, 
the  bag-net  being  opened,  and  carried  by  the  current  up-stream 
into  the  eddy.  Across  the  mouth  of  the  net  is  stretched  a  fan 
of  eight  strings,  tied  to  the  cross-bar  ef  (see  Fig.  100)  at  one  end, 
and  coming  together  to  a  single  string 
at  s.  The  salmon,  as  they  enter  the  net, 
disturb  or  shake  these  strings;  and  the 
fisherman  (holding  the  end  at  s) ,  feeling 
this,  instantly  draws  up  the  net,  the 
mouth  of  which  automatically  closes  by 
the  weight  of  the  net  and  fish  therein 
contained.  The  affair  being  lifted  out 
on  the  platform,  the  fish  are  then  killed 
with  a  club.  Formerly,  when  a  new 
platform  of  this  sort  was  used  for  the 
first  time,  some  ipos-root  was  pounded 
fine  and  thrown  into  the  river;  but, 
except  for  this,  there  were  no  cere 
monies. 

Among  the  Shasta  in  Oregon  a  different  mode  of  catching 
salmon  was  in  vogue,  successful  only  where  a  stream  was 
shallow,  and  not  too  rapid.  Several  rude  rafts  were  con 
structed  of  logs,  and  on  these  a  number  of  women  placed 
themselves,  and  floated  down-stream,  thrashing  the  water 
violently  all  the  time  with  branches.  This  proceeding 
frightened  the  fish,  who  turned  and  ran  down-stream  to  where 
the  men  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  line  across  the  whole 
width  of  the  river.  As  the  fish  came  down,  they  were  speared. 
All  fish  caught  in  this  manner  had  to  be  eaten  on  the  spot 
that  same  day.  If  any  were  kept,  or  carried  home,  it  would 
immediately  rain  violently. 

The  Shasta  on  the  Klamath  had  the  following  regulations 
in  regard  to  the  first  salmon  caught  each  year.  It  was  thought 
that  the  first  fish  to  ascend  the  stream  annually  brought  the 
"salmon  medicine"  put  on  by  the  Indians  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  This  first  fish  must  therefore  be  allowed  to  pass 
unmolested.  As  soon  as  it  had  passed,  fish  might  be  caught: 
but  the  first  one  taken  from  the  water  had  to  be  split  and 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  431 

hung  up  immediately  to  dry,  and  no  sa'mon  might  be  eaten 
till  this  salmon  was  completely  dried  and  a  portion  eaten  by 
all  who  were  fishing  at  that  point. 

Deer  were  hunted  in  a  variety  of  ways.  In  the  autumn, 
deer- drives  were  made.  These  were  of  two  sorts.  In  one 
case,  fences  of  brush  or  ropes  were  stretched  across  the  coun 
try,  with  openings  left  here  and  there.  In  these  openings, 
strong  nooses  were  set  and  concealed,  the  ends  being  tied 
to  trees.  The  people  then  went  out  and  beat  up  the  country, 
driving  the  deer  toward  the  fence,  where  they  were  caught  in 
the  nooses,  and  clubbed  or  shot.  The  other  method  could 
not  be  used  until  the  oak-leaves  began  to  fall.  Men  then  went 
out  and  set  fires  in  circles  on  the  hills.  The  ends  of  the  curved 
lines  forming  the  circles  of  fire  did  not  meet,  and  in  this  opening 
the  women  stood  rattling  deer-bones,  while  men  concealed  in 
the  brush  were  ready  to  shoot  the  deer  as  they  rushed  out. 
Stalking  was  also  considerably  used.  For  this  purpose  the 
hunter  put  on  the  whole  skin  of  a  deer  (the  head  stuffed, 
with  the  antlers  attached) ,  and  crept  up  on  the  unsuspecting 
animal.  Several  different  heads  were  kept,  with  the  horns  in 
different  stages,  so  that  they  might  be  suitable  for  various 
times  of  year.  Deer  were  also  run  down  and  killed  at  the 
season  when  their  winter  coats  were  coming  in.  They  were 
generally  driven  to  a  stream,  where  men  in  waiting  shot 
them  while  the  deer  were  in  the  water.  Dogs  were  often 
much  used  in  this  style  of  hunting.  In  winter,  deer  were  also 
run  down  on  snow-shoes,  and  clubbed.  Dogs  seem  to  have 
been  used  also  in  the  drives,  to  some  extent.  They  were 
trained  from  puppies  for  hunting,  and,  while  still  young, 
had  the  "Blow- fly  Song"  sung  to  them,  so  that  their  scent 
should  be  keen.  Hunting- dogs  were  kept  in  regular  kennels, 
behind  the  u'mma,  or  dwelling-house.  To  make  them  brave, 
the  "  Grizzly  Song"  was  sung  to  them,  and  they  were  then 
also  supposed  to  be  able  to  scare  game,  just  as  the  grizzlies 
scare  people.  Elk  were  killed  chiefly  in  winter,  being  run 
down  on  snow-shoes,  and  shot. 

Both  the  black  and  the  grizzly  bear  were  hunted.  For  the 
former,  men  had  to  sweat  for  five  days  before  starting  out  on 


43  2    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [  Vol .  XV 1 1 , 

the  hunt,  using  fir- twigs  on  the  coals,  to  give  the  body  an 
aromatic  odor.  After  this  preparation,  the  hunters  would 
go  to  the  bear's  den,  talk  to  the  bear  for  some  time,  and  beg 
him  to  come  out  and  be  killed.  In  the  case  of  grizzlies,  the 
hunters  had  to  dance  the  war- dance  before  starting  out,  just 
as  if  they  were  to  hunt  a  human  enemy.  Reaching  the 
den,  a  number  of  short,  sharp  stakes  were  driven  into 
the  ground  in  front  of  the  opening,  and  then,  as  the  bear 
came  out  and  was  engaged  in  tearing  down  and  clearing 
out  of  the  way  this  obstruction,  he  was  shot  under  the 
neck. 

Regulations  as  to  the  division  and  ownership  of  game  were 
fairly  numerous.  The  single  hunter  always  shared  his  game 
with  others  on  his  return:  the  chief,  however,  had  no  greater 
share  than  others.  The  person  who  killed  a  deer  always 
had  the  right  to  the  hide  and  legs.  If  two  men  shot  at  the 
same  deer,  he  whose  arrow  hit  first,  whether  it  inflicted  .a 
mortal  wound  or  not,  had  the  first  right  to  the  carcass.  If 
any  other  person  than  the  slayer  of  the  deer  should  get  the 
legs  or  hide,  he  might  put  them  in  a  woman's  menstrual  hut, 
or  otherwise  so  contaminate  them  that  the  hunter  would  be 
unlucky  ever  after.  No  hunting  was  ever  done  by  a  man 
in  the  time  of  his  wife's  menstrual  periods. 

The  first  game  killed  by  a  boy  was  never  eaten  by  him  or 
by  any  member  of  his  family.  The  boy,  for  a  year  or  more 
after  he  began  to  hunt,  did  not  eat  the  game  he  himself  killed. 
In  the  spring,  if  does  were  killed  with  fawn,  the  young  fawn 
was  hung  up  to  a  tree,  and  shot  at  by  the  smaller  boys.  Should 
a  boy,  before  the  usual  period  of  a  year  was  up,  eat  game  he 
himself  had  killed,  he  would  lose  all  his  hunting-luck.  When, 
however,  he  did  for  the  first  time  eat  game  of  his  own  killing, 
his  father  took  the  bowstring  from  the  boy's  bow,  and 
whipped  him  severely  with  it,  all  over. 

TRANSPORTATION  AND  TRADE.  — As  already  stated,  the 
Shasta  made  practically  no  use  of  canoes,  because  of  the  un 
favorable  nature  of  the  streams  within  their  territory.  Canoes 
were  sparingly  used  along  the  Klamath,  but  were  nearly  all 
purchased  from  the  Karok  and  Yurok  below.  When  made 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


433 


434   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


435 


by  the  Shasta,  they  were  merely  imitations  of  those  secured 
by  trade. 

The  burden-basket  was  in  use  here,  as  practically  through 
out  California.  As  previously  described,  the  form  made  largely 
of  rawhide  was  in  use  to  a  considerable  extent  here.  They 
were  carried  by  the  aid  of  tump- lines  of  buckskin. 

Infants  were  kept  and  carried  about  in  cradle-frames  (see 
Figs.  102,  103) .  These  are  at  present  either  obtained  from  the 
Hupa  and  other  people  of  the  lower  river,  or  are  made  on 
practically  the  same  lines.  That  shown  in  Fig.  102  is  very 
similar  to  the  Hupa  cradle  figured  by  Goddard,1  except  that 
it  has  a  more  elaborate  treatment  of  the  upper  portion.  The 
technique  of  this  is  shown  in  Fig.  104.  The  child  sits  in 
the  cradle- frame,  the  legs  hanging  down  over  the  edge,  and 


Fig.  104.      Detail  of  Cradle-frame,  Fig.  102. 

the  body  resting,  in  part  at  least,  on  the  two  wrapped  cords 
stretched  across  the  frame  on  the  inside  (see  Fig.  103).  The 
piece  of  flint  attached  to  the  upper  cross- cord  in  this  cradle 
is  a  charm  to  keep  away  the  small  lizard. 

Like  a  majority  of  the  Indians  of  the  Californian  area,  the 
Shasta  were  a  sedentary,  stay-at-home  people,  and  rarely 
made  long  journeys.  On  hunting- trips  the  men  often  went 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  Plate  21,  Fig.  i. 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

fifteen  or  even  twenty  miles,  but  had  to  be  careful  lest  they 
infringed  on  the  territory  of  some  other  village  or  tribe.  Well- 
beaten  trails  connected  the  various  villages. 

The  Shasta  traded  with  the  Karok,  Yurok,  and  Hupa  of  the 
lower  Klamath  for  acorns,  baskets,  dent  alia,  and  salt,  giving 
in  exchange  buckskin  and  pine- nuts.  With  the  Wintun  they 
seem  to  have  traded  chiefly  for  acorns,  giving  buckskin  and 
obsidian  in  exchange,  together  with  dent  alia.  There  was 
apparently  little  trade  with  the  Klamath  Lake  people  to  the 
eastward,  but  quite  a  little  with  the  various  Athabascan 
people  of  Rogue  River  and  thereabouts. 

WARFARE.  —  The  bow  was  the  chief  weapon  of  the  Shasta. 
In  use,  it  was  held  horizontally.  No  wholly  satisfactory 
conclusions  can  be  drawn,  however,  as  to  the  original  type 
of  bow.  No  bows  still  survive  which  are  unquestionably  of 
Shasta  make,  several  so-called  "Shasta  bows"  having  really 
been  obtained  in  trade  from  lower  down  the  river.  The  only 
bow  which  was  secured  (Fig.  105)  lacks  any  sinew  backing, 
and  is  somewhat  roundish  in  section,  and  quite  different 
from  the  bows  of  the  people  of  either  the  lower  Klamath  or 
of  the  Klamath  lakes.  The  model  of  a  bow  (Fig.  106)  se 
cured  at  Siletz  is  also  without  sinew  backing;  but  not  much 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  this  model.  Statements  as  to 
former  practice  vary,  some  declaring  that  bows  were  formerly 
broad  and  flat,  like  the  Hupa  bow,  with  a  sinew  backing; 
others,  that  they  were  more  rounded,  and  without  the  backing. 
Emmons1  describes  the  bow  as  substantially  like  the  Hupa  or 
Karok  type,  —  broad  and  flat,  with  painted  sinew  backing. 

In  this  connection,  perhaps,  should  be  mentioned  a  peculiar 
type  of  bow  found  in  many  museums  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  In  many  instances  these  bows  are  labelled  "Shasta," 
while  in  other  cases  they  are  simply  marked  "California." 
They  are  very  characteristic  in  the  roundness  of  the  bow 
and  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  the  sinew  backing  is 
curved  around  at  the  ends  (Fig.  107).  All  these  bows  of 
which  I  have  any  knowledge  are  old,  and  were  obtained  some- 

i  Emmons,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  Vol.  V,  p.  239. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


437 


I 


Fig-  105  (3fi7  A-C).  Bow  and  Arrows. 
Length  of  bowstring,  70  cm.;  of  arrows, 
65  cm. 


Fig.  106  (,{ gw  A).  Model  of  bow 
from  Siletz.  Length  of  bow,  76 
cm.;  of  arrow,  68  cm. 


43$   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

where  in  the  period  anterior  to  1855  or  1860,  some  of  them 
as  early  as  1820,  or  before.  Careful  inquiry  in  the  Shasta 
territory  has  failed  to  reveal  any  specimens  there,  and  no 
trace  of  the  peculiar  treatment  of  the  sinew  at  the  ends  of 
the  bow  has  been  found  among  the  Shasta  themselves: 
The  bow,  however,  exactly  resembles  the  one  shown  by 
Langsdorff,1  who  visited  the  region  about  San  Francisco  in 


Fig.  107  (s!§g)-      Section  of  a  Sinew-backed  Bow. 

1803-07,  and  who  came  in  contact,  so  far  as  known,  only  with 
tribes  of  the  Bay  area.  The  probability  is  strong,  therefore, 
that  these  bows  sometimes  labelled  "Shasta"  are  in  reality 
from  the  Bay  region,  and  not  from  the  Shasta,  with  whom 
the  earlier  explorers  who  visited  the  California  coast  could 
have  had  no  communication.  The  evidence  is  also  strength 
ened  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  Museum  of  the  Imperial  Academy 
of  Sciences  at  St.  Petersburg,  there  is  a  large  bundle  of  bows, 
unlabelled,  but  of  this  very  type,  which  were  probably 
brought  back  by  Kotzebue  in  1818;  and  he,  as  in  the  case 
of  Langsdorff,  came  in  contact  only  with  the  Indians  of  San 
Francisco  Bay. 

Arrows  (see  Figs.  105,  106)  both  with  and  without  foreshafts 
were  in  use ;  the  former  for  large  game  and  in  war,  the  latter 
for  small  animals.  Obsidian  was  chiefly  used  for  the  points; 
but  no  authentic  arrows  in  good  condition  were  found. 

The  Shasta  used  both  elk- hide  and  stick  armor  as  a  pro 
tection  in  warfare.  The  latter  was  always  preferred,  and 
was  made  of  round  rods  of  some  hard  wood  (generally  service- 
berry)  ,  fastened  together  by  twined  cords  in  the  usual  manner. 
On  the  head  was  worn  a  band  of  elk-hide  about  fifteen  centi- 

1  G.  H.  von  Langsdorff,  Voyages  and  Travels  in  Various  Parts  of  the  World, 
1803-07,  Vol.  II.  London,  1813. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  439 

metres  wide.  This  was  sometimes  made  double,  so  as  to 
be  impenetrable,  and  was  decorated  with  designs  cut  in  the 
skin,  and  then  painted. 

There  was  little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  organized  war 
fare,  all  being  accomplished  by  means  of  raids.  Preparatory 
to  the  leaving  of  a  war- party,  all  the  members  had  to  dance 
the  war- dance.  This  was  taken  part  in  chiefly  by  the  men, 
although  some  young  women  always  joined  in,  as  they  oc 
casionally  went  with  the  war-parties,  armed  with  knives, 
with  which  they  tried  to  cut  the  bowstrings  of  the  enemy, 
and  also  to  slash  their  quivers.  The  war-dance  is  described 
as  follows. 

When  a  war-party  was  planned,  the  young  men  would 
gather  together,  and  say  to  the  women,  "Ha'a,  atcaixi'yax- 
u'mrnu  kwa  m'waiats"  ("Now,  when  it  is  about  sundown, 
build  ye  a  fire  ").  In  compliance  with  this,  the  women  built  a 
fire  on  the  dance-ground.  The  men  assembled  there,  wearing 
a  buckskin  wrapped  about  the  waist,  and  their  hair  gathered 
in  a  knot  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  secured  by  means  of 
wooden  pins  some  ten  or  fifteen  centimetres  long.  On  the 
knot  of  hair  a  pompon  of  chicken-hawk  feathers  was  set,  and 
one  or  more  mokus  (or  decorated  feathers)  stuck  in  the  hair 
upright.  The  women  came  in  their  ordinary  clothes.  The 
dancers  stood  in  line,  facing  the  fire,  and  danced,  stamping 
one  foot  only,  and  holding  bow  and  arrow  as  if  ready  to  shoot. 
Some  carried,  instead,  double- pointed  obsidian  knives  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  centimetres  in  length,  wrapped  in  the 
centre  (where  they  were  grasped)  with  buckskin.  If  women 
took  part,  they  were  placed  at  the  ends  of  the  line,  and  held 
pieces  of  obsidian  decorated  with  feathers  similar  to  that 
shown  in  Fig.  108.  After  dancing  for  some  time  in  line,  a 
person  from  each  end  danced  out  toward  the  fire,  then  turned, 
and,  passing  between  the  fire  and  the  line,  went  to  the  opposite 
end  of  the  line,  whence  he  or  she  then  returned  in  a  similar 
manner  to  the  original  place.  The  war-cry  was  sounded  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  dancers  talked  loudly  of  the  men  they 
were  to  kill  and  the  deeds  they  were  to  do.  The  dance  kept 
up  all  night,  and  was  repeated  for  three  or  four  nights  before 


44°  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

the  party  left.  During  this  period  the  dancers  might  not  eat 
meat,  and  might  eat  of  other  foods  only  sparingly.  The 
entire  day  and  night  before  leaving  was  spent  in  dancing,  the 
party  leaving  so  as  to  arrive  just  before  dawn  at  the  place 
to  be  attacked.  When  leaving,  they  were  elaborately  painted 


Fig.  108   (gi§<j).      Dancing-knife.      Length  of  blade,  19  cm. 

(in  red,  black,  and  white)  in  spots  of  solid  color.  White,  if  it 
was  used,  precluded  the  use  of  any  other  color  with  it.  Red 
and  black  might  be  combined.  Each  man  always  painted  in 
the  same  manner. 

There  are   various  prayers  used    for  help  and  assistance 
while  on  war-parties,  and  an  example  of  these  is  given  on 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


441 


p.  490.     Scalping  seems  to  have  been  but  little  practised,  and 
the  prisoners  taken  were  as  a  rule  spared,  and  kept  as  slaves. 

GAMES  AND  AMUSEMENTS. — The  most  important  games 
played  by  the  Shasta  were  the  men's  gambling- 
game  (resembling  in  many  respects  the  grass- 
game  of  the  Maidu  and  other  Central  Calif ornian 
Indians)  and  the  women's  game,  or  many-stick 
game,  known  to  the  Hupa  and  to  many  other 
tribes.  Both  these  games  are  still  in  use. 

The  men's  game  (ke'tapig)  is  played  with  a 
bundle  of  fifteen  or  twenty  carefully  made, 
spindle-shaped  sticks  known  as  a'nninai  (Fig. 
109),  painted  in  bands  of  different  colors. 
Two  of  the  sticks,  however,  are  left  plain,  with 
out  decoration,  and  are  called  ak.  Each  man's 
spindles  are  decorated  somewhat  differently, 
examples  of  the  different  types  being  shown  in 
Fig.  no.  With  such  a  set  of  sticks  a  small 
red  stone  is  often  kept  as  a  lucky-charm,  and 
also  a  tiny  obsidian  knife,  which  is  used  to  cut 
up  glow-worms  with  which  to  rub  the  sticks 
for  luck.  In  making  the  sticks,  much  ceremony 
is  observed.  They  are  generally  made  by  two 
men  together,  who,  after  strict  continence  for 
five  days,  go  off  into  the  mountains  alone. 
Here  they  sing  and  pray,  and  are  not  allowed 
to  eat  meat  or  fresh  fish,  being  restricted  to  a 
very  little  acorn-meal  and  dried  fish.  In  eating, 
they  have  to  eat  out  of  small,  well- decorated 
baskets,  and  may  drink  water  only  if  mixed 
with  a  little  acorn-meal.  On  their  return  with 
the  finished  sticks,  the  men  are  obliged  to  re 
main  continent  for  another  five  days,  before 
using  the  sticks,  and  must  during  this  time  bathe  frequently. 
The  sticks  are  kept  in  sets,  wound  around  and  wrapped  with 
a  long  cord,  as  shown  in  Fig.  109. 

In  playing  the  game,  two  players  seat  themselves  opposite 
each  other.    Each  has  his  set  (or  several  sets)  of  sticks  and  a 


Fig.  iog  (gf§g). 

Bundle  of  Sticks 
used  in  the  Game 
Kg'tapig.  Total 
length,  20  cm. 


442    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


small  pile  .of  dried  grass.  Each  has,  moreover,  seven  counters, 
or  small  sticks,  with  which  to  keep  tally.  As  a  rule,  these 
counters  are  merely  seven  of  the  decorated  a'nninai,  which, 
being  sharp  at  the  ends,  are  stuck  into  the  ground",  or  in  the 
mat  on  which  the  player  sits.  Taking  one  of  the  plain  sticks 
(ak)  and  one  of  the  decorated  ones,  one  of  the  players 
rolls  each  separately  in  a  bunch  of  grass,  and  then,  shuffling 
the  two  bunches  rapidly,  sings  his  gambling- song,  and  tries 
to  confuse  the  opponent,  who  is  to  guess  which  bunch  of 
grass  contains  the  unmarked  stick.  The 
bundles  of  grass  are  held  in  the  hands, 
the  fists  clinched,  and  either  held  against 
the  breast,  or  put  on  the  knees.  If  the 
opponent  guesses  correctly,  the  loser 
(who  has  been  "rolling")  pays  him  one 
of  his  seven  counters ;  and  the  opponent 
then,  taking  his  set  of  sticks,  "rolls," 
and  the  first  man  has  to  guess.  If  he 
lose  his  guess,  he  pays  a  counter  to  the 
one  who  is  "rolling."  The  one  who  first 
gets  all  fourteen  of  the  counters  wins. 
In  paying  losses,  the  Maidu  method 
seems  to  prevail ;  that  is,  the  paying  out 
of  one's  winnings  as  soon  as  one  has  any; 
and  only  after  these  are  exhausted 
does  the  player  pay  out  of  the  original 
stock.1 

In  guessing,  the  opponent  indicates 
the  position  of  the  ak,  with  the  index- 
finger  of  the  hancl,  on  the  same  side 
that  he  thinks  the  unmarked  spindle  is.  Thus,  if  the  guesser 
thinks  the  ak  is  in  the  "roller's"  right  hand,  he,  facing  him, 
points  to  that  hand  with  the  forefinger  of  his  own  left  hand. 
If  he  wishes  to  use  the  right  hand  in  pointing  in  this  case, 
he  may  do  so,  but  must  not  point  with  the  index-finger,  but 
with  the  thumb.  Before  pointing,  he  always  claps  his  hands 
once  or  twice.  As  will  be  explained  presently,  at  one  stage 

1  See  pp.  213-215  of  this  volume. 


Fig.  no 
Decorations  on  Stick  for  the 
Game  Ke'tapig. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  443 

of  the  game  the  guesser  must  decide  upon  two  out  of  three 
bundles,  instead  of  the  usual  one  out  of  two.  In  this  case 
he  indicates  his  choice  thus:  the  three  piles  being  repre 
sented  by  i,  2,  3,  if  he  wishes  to  indicate  the  bundles  i  and  2, 
he  motions  with  the  flat  hand  on  that  side  (moving  his  hand 
from  the  outside  in,  that  is,  toward  his  body) ,  or  with  the  other 
hand  (moved  in  the  opposite  direction;  namely,  out  from  the 
body)  if  he  wishes  to  indicate  bundles  2  and  3.  Or  either  of 
these  combinations  may  also  be  shown  by  using  the  proper 
hand,  starting  in  the  middle  (that  is,  at  the  body) ,  and  moving 
outwards.  If  the  guesser  wishes  to  indicate  a  choice  of  i 
and  3,  however,  he  points  with  the  index- finger  and  thumb 
of  either  hand. 

In  the  course  of  the  game,  when  the  "rolling"  side  has  won 
five  counters  from  the  other,  the  method  of  play  changes. 
The  next  guess,  if  correct,  follows  the  usual  rule;  but,  if  wrong, 
the  loser  does  not  pay  a  counter,  but  waits  till  the  opponent 
"rolls"  again.  He  does  so,  and  this  time  divides  the  grass 
into  three  bundles,  instead  of  two,  placing  these  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  him;  and  the  guesser  must  now -select  two 
out  of  the  three.  If  his  choice  does  not  include  the  ak,  he 
loses,  and  has  to  pay  over  both  his  remaining  counters, 
and  is  thus  beaten.  If,  however,  he  guesses  correctly,  he 
pays  nothing,  and  receives  nothing,  but  becomes  at 
once  the  "roller;"  and  the  previous  "roller"  now  has  to 
guess. 

While  a  man   is  gambling,   his   wife   must   be   very   care-    , 
ful  as  to  her  food,  eating  only    dry    fish    and    acorns,    and 
drinking    only   water  in   which   some   acorn-meal   has  been 
stirred. 

The  women's  game  (ku'ig)  is  also  a  guessing-game.  In 
this,  each  of  the  two  players  has  her  own  set  of  sticks,  just 
as  in  the  men's  game.  The  sticks  in  this  instance,  however, 
are  of  a  different  type,  being  slender,  peeled  twigs  about 
twenty-five  centimetres  in  length  and  two  millimetres  in 
diameter.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  of  these  form  a  set,  making  a 
cylindrical  bundle  some  five  centimetres  in  diameter.  All  but 
one  of  the  sticks  are  usually  painted  alike  (either  plain  red  or 


444   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

black) ,  this  one,  however,  having  either  a  black  or  a  red  ring 
about  its  centre.  The  game  consists  in  one  of  the  two  players 
guessing  the  position  of  this  marked  stick.  In  playing  the 
game,  the  bundle  of  sticks  is  held  in  the  right  hand,  rather 
nearer  the  upper  end  than  the  middle ;  the  other  end  of  the 
bundle  being  rested  on  the  palm  of  the  left  hand.  By  giv 
ing  the  two  hands  a  slow,  circular  movement  in  opposite 
directions  in  a  horizontal  plane,  the  individual  sticks  are 
twisted  and  shuffled  among  themselves  very  thoroughly. 
This  being  done  for  a  few  moments,  the  bundle  of  sticks  is 
divided  in  two,  one  portion  being  held  in  each  hand;  and 
the  opponent  now  has  to  determine  in  which  of  the  two 
bundles  the  marked  stick  is  contained.  Each  side  starts  in 
the  game  with  five  counters.  If  the  guesser  loses  a  guess, 
she  passes  over  one  counter  to  the  opponent :  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  she  guesses  correctly,  no  counters  change  hands,  but 
the  successful  guesser  takes  her  set  of  sticks,  and  the  one 
who  formerly  "shuffled "  now  guesses.  As  in  the  men's  game, 
losses  are  paid  out  of  winnings  so  far  as  possible,  and  the 
side  which  first  secures  all  ten  of  the  counters  wins  the  game 
and  stake. 

So .  far  as  known,  no  dice-games 
were  used  by  the  Shasta.  The  w^omen 
played  a  game  in  wrhich  two  sticks 
or  billets  about  fifteen  centimetres 
long,  tied  together  near  their  ends 
by  a  cord  some  ten  centimetres  in 
length  (Fig.  in),  were  pitched  or 
tossed  by  means  of  a  staff  a  metre 
and  a  half  in  length.  A  goal  was  set 
up  at  either  end  of  the  course,  and 

the  two  billets  were  set  in  the 

by  women.   Length  of  first  suck,   ground,   halfway  between,   just    the 

loop    of   the   cord    projecting   above 

the  ground.  The  two  opposing  sides,  which  numbered  from 
four  to  ten,  faced  each  other,  and  the  leaders  then  struggled 
for  the  first  chance  to  toss  the  billets.  Each  side  strove  to 
send  the  billets  to  its  opponent's  goal.  The  game  was 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


445 


essentially  similar  to  that  played  by  the  Hupa,1  the  Klamath,2 
and  the  Maidu.3 


Fig.  112   (3f§5).    A  Form  of  the  Cup-and-ball  Game.      Total  length,  38  cm 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  p.  60. 

2  Dorsey,  Gambling  Games  of  the  Klamath  Indians  (American  Anthropologist,  N.S., 
Vol.  Ill,  pp.  19,  20). 

3  See  p.  208  of  this  volume. 


446   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

The  Shasta  still  play  a  game  (Fig.  112)  in  which  twelve_ 
salmon- vertebrae  are  strung  on  a  cord  thirty  or  forty  centi 
metres  in  length,  the  end  one  being  tied  transversely  to 
prevent  the  others  from  slipping  off.  The  cord  is  attached  to 
a  slender,  sharpened  wooden  pin  about  fifteen  centimetres 
long.  The  game  consists  in  swinging  the  bones  upward  with 
a  quick  motion  of  the  hand,  and  trying  to  catch  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  vertebrae  on  the  pin.  Each  player  tries  five 
or  six  times,  and  the  winner  is  he  whose  total  of  bones  caught 
is  the  highest.  The  greatest  skill  is  needed  to  catch  the  end 
vertebra,  which  has  its  opening  at  right  angles  to  the  others. 
Each  vertebra  is  called  a  "  moon,"  and,  by  playing  the  game 
chiefly  in  winter,  the  moon  is  made  to  grow  old  quicker,  and 
the  winter  thus  shortened.  The  catching  of  the  end-bone, 
which  is  called  the  "  eye  of  the  moon,"  kills  the  moon,  as 
they  say,  more  quickly,  than  catching  the  others.  In  winter, 
also,  cat's-cradle  figures  are  made  by  the  young  people. 
These  are  made  only  during  the  waxing  of  the  moon,  the 
looping  and  stretching  of  the  cord  being  supposed  to  hasten 
the  growth  of  the  moon.  During  the  wane  of  the  moon,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  above-mentioned  game  of  the  salmon- 
vertebrae  is  played,  to  hasten  the  moon's  death. 

Boys  formerly  played  a  game  in  which  disks  of  yellow- pine 
bark,  with  or  without  a  hole  in  the  centre,  were  rolled  down 
hill,  and  shot  at  with  bow  and  arrow  as  they  passed.  Boys 
played  with  a  small  top  made  from  an  acorn,  and  also  had 
a.  "buzzer"  made  of  the  metacarpal  bone  of  a  deer.  Small 
children  also  played  a  game  in  which  each  of  two  children 
held  in  the  hand  the  forked  stem  of  a  certain  plant.  These 
were  then  hooked  into  each  other,  and  each  child  pulled, 
the  stem  which  broke  making  its  holder  the  loser.  As  soon 
as  this  was  determined,  the  victor  struck  the  loser  with  a 
switch,  calling  him  or  her  "dog." 

ART. 

DECORATIVE  ART.  — The  Shasta  show,  on  the  whole,  less 
artistic  development  than  the  majority  of  the  Indians  of 


1907.]  .  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  447 

Central  California,  but,  like  the  most  of  the  Indians  of  the 
State,  they  exhibit  it  chiefly  in  basketry  decorations.  As 
compared  with  the  Central  Californian  people,  the  Shasta, 
perhaps,  evidence  a  somewhat  greater  growth  of  painting  and 
of  plastic  art. 

The  basketry  designs  of  the  Shasta  appear  to  be  rather 
few  in  number  and  simple  in  character.  As  has  been  said, 
basketry- making  is  now  hardly  practised  at  all  by  the  Shasta ; 
and  practically  all  the  baskets  in  use,  or  sold  by  them,  are 
bought  from  the  people  of  the  lower  Klamath.  Two  women, 
however,  were  found  who  consented  to  make  some  baskets 
such  as  the  Shasta  formerly  made,  and  with  their  old  designs. 
As  one  of  these  women  was  living  on  the  Siletz  Reservation, 
and  unable  to  get  the  traditional  materials,  she  had  to  em 
ploy  those  in  use  by  the  Athabascan  Indians  of  the  region, 
but  claimed  that  the  technique  and  designs  were  purely  Shasta. 
Long  association  with  other  people  on  the  Reservation  may, 
however,  have  had  its  effect,  and  I  do  not  feel  fully  confident 
that  either  these  baskets,  or  those  obtained  on  the  Klamath 
River,  are  to  be  regarded  as  certainly  Shasta  in  technique  or 
decoration. 

The  designs,  and  the  arrangements  of  designs,  on  these 
baskets,  agree  in  part  With  those  of  the  Northwestern,  North 
eastern,  and  Maidu  types  as  defined  by  Dr.  Kroeber.1  Con 
sidering  the  designs  in  themselves,  we  find  some  fifteen  repre 
sented  on  the  baskets  here  shown.  Of  these  a  number  are 
similar  to  Hupa,  Yurok,  and  Karok  designs.  The  commonest 
decoration  on  Shasta  baskets  is  that  shown  in  Plates  LX 
and  LXI,  and  known  as  "wood  set  up  around."  This  is 
essentially  similar  to  the  Yurok  "elk"2  and  the  Karok 
"cut  wood. "3  The  design  shown  in  Plate  LXII,  Figs,  i 
and  2,  known  as  "flint  goes  around,"  is  the  same  as  the 
Yurok  and  Karok  "flint."*  Again,  Plate  LXIII,  Figs,  i 
and  2,  for  which  no  name  was  secured,  resembles  the 

1  Kroeber,  Ba$ketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northwestern  California  (University 
of  California  Publications,  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  Vol.  II,  pp.  152  et 
seq.). 

2  Ibid.,  Fig.  67.  »  Ibid.,  Fig.  157. 
4  Ibid.,  Figs.  7,  121. 


44$   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XV J  I, 

Yurok  "ladder."'  Plate  LXII,  Fig.  3,  called  ''butterfly," 
is  practically  the  Yurok  "waxpoo."2  The  design  on  the 
basket  shown  in  Plate  LXII,  Fig.  4,  called  "salmon-heart," 
is  very  much  like  the  Yurok  and  Karok  "sturgeon,"  or 
"  snail's  back." 3  This  same  design  is  frequently  found 
on  Northern  Wintun  baskets.4  Another  resemblance  to 
the  Wintun  is  shown  in  Plate  LXIV,  Figs,  i  and  2,  "it 
goes  round  one  way;"  this  being  similar  to  the  "pulled 
around,"  shown  on  a  basket  from  the  upper  Sacramento.5 
Resemblances  to  designs  found  even  farther  south  are  also 
to  be  noted,  as  in  Plates  LXIV,  Fig.  3,  and  LXV,  Fig.  2, 
where  the  design,  called  "  it  goes  round  crooked,"  is 
identical  with  the  Maidu  design  of  "wood  in  billets."6 
Again,  Plate  LXV,  Fig.  3,  known  as  "frog's-belly,"  re 
sembles  the  Maidu  "water-snake. "7  The  meaning  of  the 
designs  shown  in  Plates  LXV,  Fig.  i,  LXVII,  Figs,  i  and  2, 
and  LXVIII,  Fig.  2,  are  unknown. 

The  design  in  Plate  LXIV,  Fig.  2,  known,  like  that  in  Fig. 
i,  as  "it  goes  round  one  way,"  suggests  in  part  the  Achoma'wi 
design  of  the  "skunk."8  Plate  LXVI,  Fig.  i,  also  suggests 
Achoma'wi  motifs,  resembling  one  of  the  elements  in  the 
design  called  there  "mussel's-tongue."9  The  simple  bands 
shown  on  many  baskets  are  found  among  most  of  the  stocks 
in  this  whole  region. 

The  design  names  in  use  among  the  Shasta  are  few  in 
number  and  are  more  of  the  type  of  those  in  the  northwestern 
and  northeastern  areas  than  of  the  region  farther  south. 
This  is  shown  in  the  presence  of  purely  descriptive  names. 
The  animal  names  given —  such  as  salmon-heart,  frog's-belly, 
and  butterfly  —  are  either  uncommon  or  unknown  among  the 
surrounding  stocks. 

Feather- work  was  comparatively  little  used  by  the  Shasta ; 


1  Kroeber,   Basketry   Designs   of   the    Indians    of    Northwestern   California    (Uni 
versity    of  California   Publications,  American    Archaeology  and    Ethnology,   Vol.  II, 
Fig.  59)- 

2  Ibid.,  Fig.  39.  3  Ibid.,  Figs.,  73,  174. 
4  Ibid.,  Fig.  216;  see  also  this  volume,  Plate  XXIII,  Figs.  2  and  7. 

*  See  this,  volume  Plate  XXIV,  Fig.  5.  <*  Ibid.,  Plate  XV,  Fig.  2. 

^  Ibid.,  Plate  III,  Fig.  2.  «  Ibid.,  Plate  XVIII,  Fig.  4. 

9  Ibid.,  Plate  XVIII,  Fig.  i. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  449 

and  the  few  articles  made  for  ceremonial  purposes  were 
rather  simple  as  compared  with  those  made  by  the  Maidu, 
for  example,  or  by  the  Hupa.  While,  among  the  Maidu, 
carving  was  practically  unknown,  the  Shasta  illustrated  the 
rudiments  of  the  art  in  the  carved  handles  of  their  wooden 
or  horn  spoons  (see  Fig.  71)  and  their  mush-paddles.  These, 
however,  show  much  less  development  than  those  of  the  In 
dians  farther  down  the  Klamath  River.1  Painting,  except 
on  the  bow,  was  apparently  confined  chiefly  to  the  elk-hide 
frontlets  worn  in  battle.  No  specimens  of  these  are  now  in 
existence;  but  the  nature  of  the  designs  is  said  to  have  been 
similar  to  those  on  the  basketry.  Buckskin  skirts  worn  by 
shamans  often  had  rude  zigzags  and  dots  of  red  paint  applied, 
as  shown  in  Plate  LXXII. 

No  rock  paintings  or  carvings  are  known  in  the  area  occu 
pied  by  the  Shasta,  with  one  exception.  At  Gottville,  on 
the  Klamath  River,  there  was  formerly  a  large  bowlder,  on 
which  were  cut  or  scratched,  according  to  the  various  accounts, 
many  figures.  Some  are  said  to  have  resembled  bear's  feet; 
and  others  are  described  as  "like  hieroglyphics,"  whatever 
that  may  mean.  A  local  photographer  once  took  several 
negatives  of  the  rock,  which  is  well  remembered  by  some 
of  the  older  settlers;  but  not  the  slightest  trace  of  these  can 
now  be  found.  Search  for  the  bowlder  itself  has  also  proved 
unavailing,  as  it  had  probably  been  either  washed  down 
by  the  river,  or  at  least  turned  over  and  partially  buried  by 
debris,  during  a  period  of  unusually  high  water  which  occurred 
a  few  years  ago. 

Music.  —  The  Shasta  have  little  beside  the  flute  in  the 
way  of  musical  instruments.  The  flute,  however,  was  but 
little  used,  it  seems,  as  compared  with  the  considerable  use 
made  of  it  in  the  central  parts  of  the  State.  Single  and 
double  whistles,  of  bird-bones,  were  in  use  by  the  shamans, 
and  also  were  used  in  the  war-  dance.  So  far  as  my  informa 
tion  goes,  no  drum  of  any  sort  was  used.  Rattles  (Fig.  113) 
were  made  of  deer-hoofs  attached  to  a  stick,  stick  and  cords 

i  Goddard.  op.  cit.,  Plate  16,  Figs.  3,  4,  5-  6,  7. 
[September,  1907.]  29 


THE 

DIVERSITY 

OF 

/.PC'S- 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


being  dyed  or  painted  red.     These  rattles  were  used  chiefly 
by  young  girls  during  the  puberty-dance.     The  cocoon  rattle 


Fig.  113  (j8?j  A).     Rattle  made  of  Deer-hoofs.      Length  of  handle,  20  cm. 

and  the  split-clapper  rattle,  both  common  in  Central  Cali 
fornia,  seem  to  be  lacking. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  45  * 

SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  LAW. 

SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION. — The  social  organization  of  the 
Shasta  was  somewhat  intermediate  between  that  of  the 
Central  Californian  area  as  exemplified  by  the  Maidu,  and 
the  Northwestern  area  as  shown  in  the  Hupa.  As  is  the  case 
practically  throughout  California,  no  trace  is  to  be  found 
of  any  gentile  or  totemic  grouping.  People  lived  in  village 
communities,  generally  of  small  size,  and  not  infrequently, 
it  is  said,  consisting  of  only  a  single  family.  In  so  far  we 
have  the  formlessness  of  the  Central  area ;  but  we  find  among 
the  Shasta  the  additional  feature,  that  the  various  commu 
nities  were  organized,  or,  perhaps  better,  grouped  into  four 
divisions.  These  were  the  Wiruhikwai'irukla,  or  Klamath 
River  people;  the  Wiweha'wakutsu,  or  Scott  Valley  people; 
the  Ahotire'itsu,  or  people  of  Shasta  Valley ;  and  the  Ikira- 
ku'tsu,  or  people  along  the  Stewart  and  Rogue  rivers  in  Oregon. 

Each  of  these  groups  had  a  head  man  or  chief,  the  position 
being  declared  to  have  been  hereditary,  passing  first  to  the 
next  oldest  brother,  and,  in  default  of  a  brother,  to  the  oldest 
son.  For  sufficient  reason,  the  chief  might  be  deposed,  and 
the  next  in  succession  appointed  in  his  place.  No  woman 
could  be  chief ;  nor  could  the  sisters  of  a  chief  marry  any  one 
in  the  tribe  who  would  be  of  rank  sufficient  to  be  elected 
chief.  If  the  regular  successor  were  too  young  to  act  as  chief, 
the  chief  of  the  neighboring  section  or  group  would  serve 
as  regent  during  his  minority,  the  female  relatives  of  the 
young  chief  being  co-regents  in  all  matters  of  minor  im 
portance.  The  family  in  each  group  in  which  the  chieftancy 
was  hereditary  was  by  tradition  originally  the  wealthiest  one, 
and  a  chief  must  be  wealthy,  or  else  he  was  not  allowed  to 
take  his  position.  This  prominence  of  wealth  as  a  necessary 
characteristic  of  a  chief  resembles  somewhat  the  conditions 
among  the  Hupa.  The  necessity  for  the  possession  of  wealth 
on  the  part  of  the  chief  lay  in  part  in  the  fact  that  he  often 
had  to  advance,  or  pay  out  of  his  own  property,  the  fines 
required  as  blood-money  of  the  people  of  his  group.  His 
other  duties  were  to  act  as  adviser  to  his  people,  and  par- 


45  2    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVI I 

ticularly  to  settle  disputes  both  within  and  without  his 
tribe.  An  important  part  of  his  duties  as  mediator  con 
sisted  in  arriving  at  some  agreement  with  aggrieved  parties 
as  to  the  monetary  satisfaction  needed  to  balance  accounts  in 
cases  of  theft  or  murder.  As  just  stated  also,  in  instances 
where  the  aggressor  could  not  pay,  the  chief  often  advanced 
the  property,  or  in  some  cases  paid  it  outright  for  the  poorer 
people.  He  did  not  take  part  in  war,  but,  when  the  fighting 
was  over,  he  with  the  chief  of  the  enemy,  aided  by  several 
old  men  from  each  side,  agreed  on  terms  of  peace.  There  was, 
however,  no  formal  body  which  could  be  called  a  council. 

Slaves  were  held  by  the  Shasta  in  a  few  cases.  The  custom 
was  not  regarded  very  favorably;  and  persons  owning  slaves 
were  said  to  be,  in  a  way,  looked  down  upon.  The  slaves 
were  fairly  well  treated,  apparently,  being  taken  into  the 
family,  and,  if  young,  brought  up  with  the  children. 

Rights  of  property  were,  in  general,  similar  to  those  among 
the  Maidu.  Fishing- places,  and  in  particular  fish  weirs  or 
dams,  were  private  property  belonging  to  specific  families. 
Only  the  wealthy,  however,  had  any  such  property.  Members 
of  the  family  alone  had  the  right  to  fish  there ;  but  to  stran 
gers  or  others  they  had  to  give  fish,  if  asked,  and  they  gener 
ally  allowed  them  to  fish  for  themselves  now  and  then.  If 
a  member  of  the  family  died,  no  other  member  of  the  family 
could  fish  there  for  two  years,  and,  of  course,  no  outsider. 
To  a  less  extent,  each  family  seems  to  have  had  its  own 
hunting-grounds,  to  which  some  regulations  applied,  but 
more  laxly  than  to  the  fishing- places.  Both  hunting  and 
fishing  places  were  inherited  in  the  male  line.  Each  village 
had  a  well-recognized  territory,  within  which  the  areas  of 
the  different  families  lay;  but  there  was  not,  apparently,  as 
much  care  taken  to  make  exact  boundaries  as  among  the 
Maidu,  nor  was  there  any  such  system  of  policing  the  village 
territory  as  obtained  there,  according  to  the  information 
secured  from  Mr.  Spencer. 

The  division  of  labor  among  the  Shasta  was  similar  to 
that  among  the  Maidu.1 

1  See  this  volume,  p.  227. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  453 


CRIMES  AND  PUNISHMENTS. — In  all  minor  affairs,  such  as 
theft,  the  chief  acted  as  mediator  and  settled  the  quarrel, 
generally  by  exacting  a  payment  to  recompense  the  aggrieved 
party.  For  more  serious  crimes,  as  murder,  there  was  more 
formality.  One  or  two  well-known  men  were  hired  by  the 
aggressors  to  act  as  go-betweens,  and  these  went  to  the  family 
of  the  murdered  man,  and  tried  to  arrange  for  blood-money 
to  be  paid.  This  was  sometimes  merely  property  in  dentalia, 
skins,  food,  etc.,  but  often  included  one  or  more  women. 
The  payment  of  property  was  usually  a  simple  affair  to  ar 
range,  as  every  individual  had  his  or  her  fixed  value,  depend 
ing  on  the  price  paid  for  their  mother  by  their  father  at 
marriage.  Blood- money  must  always  be  accepted,  if  offered. 
Revenge,  either  on  the  murderer  or  on  any  of  his  relatives, 
might,  however,  be  taken  before  the  offer  could  be  made. 
Should  such  fevenge  be  taken  on  any  one  not  the  criminal  him 
self,  the  regular  payment  for  such  person  must  be  made  to  the 
relatives,  thus  offsetting  in  part  or  in  whole  the  sum  they 
were  required  to  pay  for  the  first  killing.  In  cases  of  murder, 
the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  murdered  man  went  about 
praying  that  the  murderer  might  die,  or  be  injured  in  some 
accident.  If  this  happened  to  him  or  to  any  of  his  family 
(who  were  generally  included  in  these  prayers) ,  it  was  regarded 
as  due  to  the  latter  that  the  accident  or  death  took  place, 
and  the  relatives  of  the  murdered  man  were  then  held  just 
as  much  responsible  for  the  blood-money  a«;  if  they  had  killed 
or  injured  the  individual  by  bodily  violence. 

BIRTH,  PUBERTY,  MARRIAGE,  AND  DEATH. 

The  following  account  of  the  former  customs  in  these 
matters  is  based,  of  necessity,  almost  entirely  on  descriptions 
given  by  older  Indians,  the  customs  themselves  having  now 
almost  entirely  disappeared. 

BIRTH. — As  soon  as  a  man's  wife  has  conceived  a  child, 
both  he  and  she  are  subject  to  many  regulations.  He  does 
not  hunt  much,  and,  toward  the  close  of  the  period  of  preg 
nancy,  not  at  all.  If  he  hunts,  he  must  kill  only  deer;  for, 


454   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

should  he  kill  a  pheasant,  the  child,  when  born,  would  be  sub 
ject  to  epilepsy.  Should  he  kill  a  coyote,  the  child  would 
always  be  erratic  and  strange.  The  woman,  on  her  part,  has 
to  observe  some  food-restrictions,  and  in  general  eats  but 
little,  particularly  as  the  time  for  delivery  approaches.  She 
must  be  very  careful  not  to  look  at  anything  unusual,  lest  it 
affect  the  child.  Should  she,  for  example,  see  a  wounded 
person,  the  child  would  bear  a  birth-mark  where  the  wound 
was.  Should  she  see  a  deformed  person,  the  child  also  would 
be  deformed.  She  must  not  step  over  a  dead  rattlesnake, 
lest  the  child  be  born  blind;  nor  is  she  allowed  to  eat  rabbit, 
for  fear  that  the  child  will  have  a  hare-lip.  Neither  she  nor 
the  father  must  look  a  dead  person  in  the  face. 

When  the  time  for  delivery  approaches,  the  woman  goes 
generally  to  her  menstrual  lodge,  and,  aided  by  some  old 
woman  (generally  a  relative) ,  gives  birth  to  the  child.  During 
delivery,  the  woman  assumes  a  half-reclining  position.  If 
the  delivery  is  delayed,  water  from  an  eddy  in  the  river  is 
given  to  the  woman,  and  special  songs  sung.  Large  payments 
are  necessary  to  be  allowed  to  learn  these  songs.  They 
relate  how  Anakuna  (apparently  a  large  species  of  hawk) 
once  bore  five  children  in  his  nose.  For  a  long  time  he  could 
not  secure  the  delivery  of  the  children,  but  finally,  on  drinking 
water  from  an  eddy  in  the  river,  the  children  were  born 
immediately. 

As  soon  as  the  child  is  born,  the  umbilical  cord  is  tied  with 
a  strand  of  the  mother's  hair,  and  the  child,  after  severing 
the  cord,  is  washed  in  cold  water,  nursed  immediately,  and 
then  laid  on  a  tray-basket,  which  is  set  on  a  cooking-basket 
full  of  boiling  water.  Here,  in  the  warm  vapor,  the  child 
is  kept  for  five  days,  at  the  end  of  which  period  the  um 
bilical  cord  is  supposed  to  drop  off.  The  cord  was  gener 
ally  decorated  with  beads  wrapped  in  a  bit  of  buckskin,  and 
carefully  kept  by  the  mother. ',  being  hidden  in  the  hollow 
of  a  tree  a  mile  or  more  from  camp.  In  other  cases,  this 
practice  seems  not  to  have  been  followed,  the  cord  being 
burned  just  at  dawn  of  the  sixth  day.  The  after-birth  is 
burned.  No  matter  what  season  of  the  year  it  may  be, 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


455 


it  is  thought  that  rain  almost  immediately  follows  the  birth 
of  a  child. 

For  a  month  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  the  mother  re 
mains  in  her  menstrual  hut,  subject  to  strict  food- regulations. 
For  five  days  she  must  use  a  scratching-stick  (Fig.  114).  The 
father  also,  during  these  first 
five  days,  is  under  restrictions. 
He  must  stay  by  himself,  away 
from  the  village;  he  must  sleep 
but  little,  may  eat  only  dried 
fish  and  acorns,  and  must  bring 
wood  every  night  to  the  sweat- 
house,  where  he  sweats  every 
day  at  dawn.  At  the  end  of 
the  five  days,  he  bathes,  and 
may  then  resume  his  regular  life. 
The  woman,  at  the  end  of  her 
month's  seclusion,  also  bathes, 
and  then  takes  up  her  usual 
duties. 

After  the  first  five  days, 
during  which  the  child  re 
mains  in  the  basket  over  the 
steaming  water,  it  is  placed 
in  a  regular  cradle-frame  (see 

Figs.  102,  103),  wrapped  first  in  a  small  foxskin.  At  the 
end  of  the  month,  when  the  mother  resumes  her  ordi 
nary  life,  she  puts  the  child  on  a  new  and  larger  cradle- 
frame,  in  which  the  child  is  kept  till  it  is  able  to  creep. 
To  both  cradles,  pieces  of  obsidian  (generally  small  arrow- 
points  or  knives)  are  attached,  in  order  to  keep  Ta'matsi,  the 
small  lizard  or  swift,  away  from  the  child.  If  this  were  not 
done,  it  would  say  to  the  child,  "Laugh,"  or  "Cry,"  and  make 
the  baby  fractious.  When  the  child  has  reached  an  age 
where  it  no  longer  requires  a  cradle,  both  the  first  and  the 
second  ones  are  taken  by  the  mother,,  and  hung  on  a  black 
oak,  at  some  distance  from  the  village. 

If  a  child  is  still-born,  both  man  and  wife  must  fast  rigor 


Fig.    114 
stick  used  by 


A-B).       Scratching- 
omen  after  the  Birth  of 


a  Child.      Length  of  longer  stick,  n  cm. 


456*  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

ously,  and  sweat  and  bathe  frequently,  for  ten  days.  After 
this  time,  they  must  secure  the  services  of  some  one  to  perform 
a  ceremony  for  them,  the  ceremony  involving  chiefly  the  sing 
ing  of  certain  songs.  The  man  cuts  his  arms  with  a  flint  knife 
in  several  places,  rubs  in  some  sort  of  powdered  root,  and 
drinks  an  infusion  of  several  herbs.  After  this,  both  man 
and  wife  resume  their  usual  life.  A  parallel  ceremony  for  the 
woman  was  also  necessary;  but  the  details  of  neither  could 
be  secured. 

NAMES.  —  Children  are  not  named  till  they  are  a  year  or  so 
old.  The  names  given  may  be  either  those  of  some  animal 
or  bird,  or  more  usually  refer  to  some  characteristic  of  the 
child  or  its  parents.  Thus,  if  the  child's  father  is  a  good 
hunter,  it  may  be  called  O'wariya'hawir;  if  a  good  gambler, 
Ayakwa'hawir ;  if  a  good  fighter  and  leader,  I'ruhuti'kahiru ; 
or,  if  the  father  is  lazy  and  of  little  account,  A'psair.  Girls 
are  named  after  their  mother's  characteristics;  as,  if  lazy, 
Apsa/tswirax ;  if  a  good  worker,  Irakwi'tswirax.  Names  re 
ferring  to  personal  characteristics  are  such  as  Iraho'xukwid 
("striped  around") ,  or  I'raxagi'skisir("hair  sticks  up  straight"). 
Others,  again,  chiefly  persons  of  considerable  standing,  have 
the  names  of  certain  Axe'ki  ("pains"),  such  as  A'warikneke1 
("two  crowns  in  hair"),  or  Iraho'dikahiru  -.  A  name  once 
given  holds,  as  a  rule,  for  life,  and  no  other  names  are  giveri 
either  to  men  or  women  at  a  subsequent  period. 

When  a  person  dies,  his  or  her  name  is  not  mentioned  by 
the  relatives,  but  may  be  by  other  people,  except  to  the 
relatives  or  in  their  hearing.  This  restriction  gradually  dies 
away,  and  after  several  years  the  name  or  the  word  (if  the 
name  is  the  name  of  some  animal  or  other)  again  comes  into 
general  use.  To  mention  the  name,  however,  to  a  relative, 
during  the  prescribed  time,  is  one  of  the  greatest  insults 
possible. 

Children  have  their  hair  burned  off  close  to  the  head,  with 
the  aid  of  a  small  torch,  at  the  age  of  one  month.  This 
process  is  repeated  periodically,  in  the  case  of  boys,  till  they 
reach  the  age  of  two  or  three  years,  when  the  hair  is  allowed 
to  grow  long.  In  the  case  of  girls,  after  they  reach  the  age 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  457 

of  three  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow  long,  except  for  a  broad 
strip  from  the  forehead,  over  the  crown  of  the  head,  to  the 
neck ;  this  strip  being  kept  short  by  burning,  as  before.  This 
peculiar  type  of  hair-dressing  is  continued  till  the  age  of 
puberty.  At  the  age  of  about  ten  or  eleven,  both  boys  and 
girls  have  their  ears  pierced.  It  is  done,  as  a  rule,  with 
a  porcupine-quill,  and  .for  a  period  of  five  days  the  girl  or 
boy  must  sleep  but  little,  eat  sparingly  (and  only  of  dried 
fish  and  acorns),  and  must  walk  about  much  alone  among 
the  hills. 

PUBERTY.  —  Puberty  ceremonies  were  held  by  the  Shasta 
only  for  girls,  and,  so  far  as  has  been  ascertained,  the  details 
of  the  ceremony  appear  to  have  been  alike  throughout  the 
whole  area  occupied  by  the  stock.  According  to  the  accounts, 
the  ceremony  begins  at  once,  on  the  night  after  the  girl  attains 
puberty.  She  goes  to  her  mother's  menstrual  hut  or  to  a 
special  hut  built  for  her.  Her  face  is  painted  with  a  number 
of  vertical  stripes  in  red,1  running  from  the  forehead  to  the 
chin ;  and  on  her  head  she  wears  a  feather  head-dress  (see  Fig. 
84)  consisting  of  a  wide  visor  of  blue  jay-feat  hers,  which  shields 
the  ,eyes  completely,  so  that  the  wearer  cannot  look  up,  or  see 
the  sun  or  moon.  In  some  cases  there  is  a  cap-like  addi 
tion  to  the  visor,  so  covering  all  the  head,  which  tends  to 
obviate  evil  dreams.  In  the  menstrual  hut  the  girl  remains 
for  a  good  part  of  the  day,  for  ten  days,  and  is  always  accom 
panied  by  her  mother  or  an  old  woman  (or  more  than  one) , 
who  does  everything  for  the  girl,  cutting  up  her  food,  washing 
her  face,  and  combing  her  hair.  She  may  not  speak  to  any 
one,  except  her  mother  or  female  attendant,  during  this  period 
of  ten  days,  and  only  to  her  in  a  whisper.  She  must  wear 
her  moccasins  all  the  while,  and  must  use  a  large  scratching- 
stick  (see  Fig.  114)  of  bone  for  her  head,  and  a  smaller  one  for 
her  eyelids.  She  must  not  come  near  a  fire,  nor  look  at  one 
directly,  during  the  whole  period ;  nor  may  she  look  at  people, 
or  at  the  sun  or  moon.  She  must  not  get  excited,  nor  hurry 
in  doing  anything.  During  the  whole  time,  she  is  subjected 

i  See  this  volume,  p.  233. 


45  8   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

to  strict  food-regulations,  and  may  drink  only  water  that 
has  been  warmed  and  into  which  a  little  clay  has  been  stirred. 
She  is  allowed  to  sleep  but  very  little,  and  that  just  before 
dawn.  In  sleeping,  she  must  place  her  head  in  a  mortar- 
basket  across  the  small  end  of  which  a  stick  is  placed.  This 
is  to  keep  evil  spirits  away  from  her  head.  The  stick  which 
is  put  across  the  opening  is  burned  every  morning  by  the 
girl's  attendant,  and  a  new  one  is  prepared  for  the  next  night. 
All  the  time  the  girl  remains  in  the  hut,  she  must  sit  facing 
the  east,  and  holding  a  deer-hoof  rattle  in  her  hand,  which  she_ 
shakes  from  time  to  time.  Every  day  she  must  go  up  into' 
the  mountains  and  bring  back  several  loads  of  wood,  which 
are  used  for  the  fire  for  the  evening  dance.  She  must  also 
bring  a  small  quantity  for  every  house  in  the  village.  She 
is  accompanied  on  these  excursions  by  two  or  three  young 
girls,  and,  should  she  meet  any  one  on  the  trail,  they  at  once 
turn  aside,  and  allow  her  to  pass.  Whatever  she  dreams  of 
during  this  period,  she  confides  to  her  mother,  and  all  these 
dreams  are  bound  to  come  true.  Should  she  be  so  unfortunate 
as  to  dream  of  the  death  of  any  person  in  the  village,  or  of 
a  general  conflagration,  the  only  way  the  calamity  can  be 
averted  is  to  burn  the  unfortunate  girl  alive.  For  this  sacri 
fice,  which,  it  is  said,  has  several  times  been  made,  the  girl 
is  decked  in  all  the  finery  the  family  possesses,  and  made  to 
leap  into  the  centre  of  a  huge  fire  built  by  members  of  the 
family. 

The  first  night  of  the  period  of  ten  days,  during  which  all 
the  above  restrictions  and  regulations  are  in  force,  a  dance 
is  held.  To  this  and  the  dances  of  the  succeeding  nights, 
many  relatives  and  friends  are  invited;  but  all  these  do  not 
arrive  in  time  for  the  first  dance.  In  this,  the  girl,  painted  as 
described,  and  dressed  in  her  ordinary  clothes  (to  which, 
however,  deer-hoof  rattles  are  attached),  dances  before  all 
who  are  assembled.  She  wears  the  feather  visor  or  cap,  and 
carries  deer-hoof  rattles  in  her  hands.  The  assembly  at  first 
consists  mainly  of  women,  although  some  men  are  always 
present.  All  the  onlookers  sit  in  rows,  facing  eastward,  their 
backs  to  a  large  fire,  lit  to  give  light.  Most  of  the  men  and 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  459 

women  have  rattles  similar  to  that  held  by  the  girl.  Some, 
however,  have  sticks  with  which  they  beat  time  on  thin 
boards v  The  girl  dances  back  and  forth,  east  and  west,  always 
keeping  her  face  to  the  east  and  her  back  to  the  fire.  She 
herself  does  not  sing,  and  when  she  grows  tired,  a  man  (or 
two  men)  dances  with  her,  supporting  part  of  her  weight. 

After  this  style  of  dancing  has  gone  on  for  some  time,  a 
change  occurs.  In  the  succeeding  form  of  dance,  a  large 
ring  is  made  by  the  whole  audience,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
fire,  or  two  concentric  rings,  if  the  number  is  large.  All  hold 
hands,  the  girl  and  two  or  more  helpers,  however,  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  ring,  facing  east,  and  dancing  sideways 
from  north  to  south;  while  the  ring  dances  round  them,  first 
in  one  direction,  and  then  in  the  other,  singing  the  while. 

By  this  time,  it  is  probable  that  several  parties  of  friends 
or  relatives  have  arrived  from  neighboring  villages.  These 
may  not,  however,  join  in  until  certain  ceremonies  have  first 
been  gone  through.  A  party,  composed  partly  of  men  and 
partly  of  women,  arriving  near  where  the  dance  is  going  on, 
cut  bunches  of  brush,  and,  holding  their  bows  and  Barrows, 
advance  slowly,  crying  out  that  they  are  coming,  in  order  to 
warn  the  dancers  of  their  approach.  All  are  painted  as  if 
for  a  war-dance.  As  soon  as  the  shout  is  heard,  the  dancers 
engaged  in  the  "round  dance"  instantly  stop,  and  the  visit 
ors  approach  in  a  long  line,  their  backs  to  the  fire,  and  the 
bunches  of  brush  held  over  their  faces,  to  conceal  their  iden 
tity.  Then,  holding  the  bunch  of  brush  in  both  hands,  the 
men  point  first  to  the  right,  and  then  to  the  left,  and  then  all 
dance.  This  pointing  and  dancing  alternate  five  times,  while 
the  girl  herself  comes  out  from  the  circle  of  dancers  and  runs 
back  and  forth  in  front  of  the  line  of  visitors,  keeping  time 
with  their  song. 

The  pointing  and  dancing  having  alternated  five  times,  the 
men  throw  away  the  brush,  and,  locking  arms,  dance  sideways, 
this  way  and  that,  to  a  very  lively  song.  At  this  juncture, 
the  girls  and  women  of  the  visiting-party,  who  thus  far  have 
remained'out  in  the  brush,  run  up,  each  seizing  from  behind 
the  belt^of  a  man,  and  dancing  behind  him,  holding  the  belt 


4-6°   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

in  both  hands.  The  girl  herself  at  this  stage  stands  at  one 
side,  still  facing  to  the  east.  Five  times  the  visiting  men  and 
women  dance  in  line  thus,  the  women  holding  the  men  by 
the  belt;  then  all  suddenly  start,  and  run  as  fast  as  they  can 
in  a  circle  around  the  girl  for  whom  the  whole  ceremony  is 
held,  and  also  around  the  whole  dance-place,  where  all  the 
other  persons  are  standing  or  sitting.  This  being  done,  they 
at  once  fall  into  the  circle  of  the  "round  dance "  (interrupted  by 
their  arrival) ,  and  the  latter  dance  then  begins  again  as  before, 
now  with  a  larger  number  of  dancers.  The  "round  dance" 
is  then  continued  till  nearly  dawn.  This  same  ceremony  is 
gone  through  with,  in  its  entirety,  with  every  new  party  of 
guests  arriving.  It  sometimes  happens  that  in  the  "round 
dance,"  the  girl,  or  Wa'pxi,  as  she  is  called,  leaves  her  place 
in  the  centre  of  the  ring  for  a  time,  and  joins  in  with  those 
forming  the  circle,  later  returning  to  her  place. 

These  two  types  of  dances,  the  Ku'stiruma  and  the  Kle'pxig, 
are  kept  up  every  night  of  the  period  of  ten  days  during  which 
the  Wa/pxi  has  to  remain  in  the  hut,  fasting,  and  gathering 
wood  in  the  daytime,  as  above  described.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  period,  —  what  with  her  fasting,  her  daily  labor  in  carrying 
wood,  and  her  long  hours  of  dancing  every  night,  — the  Wa/pxi 
often  gets  so  weak  that  she  has  to  be  supported  almost  con 
stantly  in  the  dance.  On  the  tenth  and  last  night  she  must 
remain  in  the  centre  of  the  ring  of  the  Kle'pxig  all  the  time, 
not  leaving  it  at  all.  This  night,  the  dance  is  kept  up  till 
dawn,  when  all  stop  for  breakfast.  This  over,  several  different 
songs  are  sung  and  the  dance  is  continued.  As  noon  ap 
proaches,  one  or  two  of  her  men  supporters  now  and  then 
tap  the  feather  visor  which  the  Wa/pxi  has  worn  all  the  time, 
and  then  lift  it  up  a  little,  replacing  it,  however,  at  once.  As 
time  goes  on,  the  visor  is  raised  higher  and  higher,  till  finally 
it  is  taken  entirely  off  and  held  over  the  head,  only  to  be 
again  put  back.  As  noon  comes  still  nearer,  the  visor  is 
taken  off  and  thrown  into  the  air,  and  put  back  again,  till, 
when  it  is  just  noon,  the  head-dress  is  removed,  and  thrown 
high  into  the  air  toward  the  east  (outside  the  ring  of  the 
dancers) ,  and  is  there  caught  by  a  man  sent  out  for  the  purpose. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


Immediately  the  dance  stops,  and  the  girl  and  her  mother 
go  to  the  river,  where  they  bathe,  and  put  on  new,  clean 
clothes.  While  this  takes  place,  the  others  sit  down  and 
rest.  The  girl  now  returns,  dressed  in  her  best,  with  all  her 
ornaments,  and  all  present  then  dance  the  war-dance;  the 
girl  dancing  back  and  forth  before  the  others,  accompanied 
now  by  a  young  girl  who  as  yet  has  not  gone  through  the 
ceremony.  The  girl  and  her  aid  stand  at  opposite  ends  of 
the  line,  and  dance  then  to  the  opposite  end,  and  return,  as 
described  in  speaking  of  the  war-dance.  When  this  dance 
is  over,  the.  girl's  mother  brings  out  a  quantity  of  food  in 
baskets,  and  all  the  guests  partake,  after  which  they  return 
to  their  homes,  and  the  ceremony  is  ended. 

The  entire  ceremony,  however,  in  all  its  details,  is  repeated 
again  on  the  occasion  of  the  next  two  menstrual  periods, 
and  then,  and  only  then,  is  the  girl  considered  marriageable. 
The  whole  triple  ceremony  is  one  of  great  expense  to  the 
girl's  family,  as  they  have  to  lodge  and  feed  the  guests  during 
the  whole  period  of  ten  days  each  time.  It  is  said  that  here, 
as  among  the  Maidu,  the  last  night  of  the  ceremony  in  each 
case  is  one  of  great  license,  in  which  all  women  (old  and  young, 
married  and  single)  are  regarded  as  free  to  all  ;  and  couples 
drop  out  of  the  ring  of  the  dance,  returning  later  to  take  their 
places  again. 

At  succeeding  periods,  after  the  completion  of  the  three 
puberty-  dances,  a  woman  secludes  herself  for  five  days  in 
her  menstrual  hut,  eats  only  dried  fish  and  acorns,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  time  bathes  before  returning  to  the  family  house. 
Should  a  woman  be  taken  unexpectedly  ill  while  in  'the  latter 
house,  all  men  leave  at  once,  taking  with  them  their  bows, 
spears,  and  nets,  lest  they  become  contaminated,  and  thus  all 
luck  desert  them. 

MARRIAGE.  —  There  is  considerable  variety  in  the  customs 
relating  to  marriage,  in  -regard  to  the  manner  of  obtaining 
a  wife.  In  wealthy  families,  it  is  often  the  custom  to  betroth 
the  children  while  still  very  young,  the  father  of  the  boy 
paying  at  that  time  to  the  family  of  the  girl  the  full  purchase- 
money.  The  couple  may  not  happen,  however,  to  meet 


462    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

till  the  very  day  of  the  marriage,  for  the  wife  is  generally, 
although  not  always,  chosen  from  another  village.  The  con 
sent  of  the  girl  in  such  cases  is  not  needed,  and  often  she 
is  married  against  her  will.  The  girl  is,  in  cases  of  be 
trothal  like  this,  simply  brought  home  by  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  boy,  after  she  has  passed  through  the 
puberty  ceremony.  All  the  relations  then  assemble.  There 
is  a  big  feast,  but  no  dancing.  The  girl  is  left  at  the  young 
husband's  house  for  three  or  four  months,  and  then  the 
couple,  with  some  of  their  relatives,  go  on  a  visit  to  the  bride's 
family.  When  the  bridal  party  first  comes  to  the  groom's 
house,  they  come  in  all  their  best;  and  these  gala  clothes 
and  ornaments  are  left  as  a  present  with  the  groom's  family. 
The  same  display  is  used  when  the  two  newly  married  people 
and  their  relatives  visit  the  bride's  family;  and  the  clothes 
and  ornaments  worn  on  this  occasion  are  presented  to  the 
family  of  the  bride,  thus  returning  the  gift  made  to  the  hus 
band's  family  in  the  first  place.  There  thus  results  an  inter 
change  of  property.  The  visit  made  by  the  newly  wedded 
pair  to  the  bride's  parents  lasts,  as  a  rule,  from  a  week  to  two 
weeks,  after  which  time  the  couple  return  to  the  home  of  the 
husband's  father.  As  a  rule,  the  young  married  people  live 
at  the  house  of  the  husband's  father,  and  do  not  build  a  new 
house  for  themselves. 

If  a  man  is  poor,  he  is  obliged  to  follow  another  plan  in 
securing  a  wife.  Under  these  circumstances,  he  has  to  go 
and  seek  his  bride  for  himself.  Having  found  a  girl  whom 
he  favors,  his  relatives  and  friends  all  help  him  to  gather 
together  the  purchase-money  which  they  regard  as  sufficient. 
He  then  takes  this  in  person  to  the  girl's  family.  If  they 
consider  the  amount  satisfactory,  and  like  the  appearance 
of  the  man  and  his  reputation,  they  accept  the  property, 
and  the  girl  is  his.  If  a  man  is  known  to  be  a  good  hunter 
and  a  good  man,  he  is  often  gladly  accepted  by  the  girl's 
parents  as  a  son-in-law,  even  if  he  is  unable  to  pay  in  full  at 
once.  Under  such  conditions,  he  pays  the  remainder  of  the 
price  later,  as  he  is  able. 

Should  a  man  be  unable  to  pay  anything  for  his  wife,  he 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


may  yet  be  accepted,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  live  with 
his  father-in-law,  and  hunt  and  work  for  him,  till  an  equiva 
lent  of  the  purchase-money  has  been  paid. 

Thus  it  is  regarded  as  essential  to  have  a  definite  sum  of 
money  paid,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  a  wife,  in  order  that 
her  children's  value  shall  be  fixed.  There  is  also  a  direct. 
incentive  on  both  sides  to  set  a  good  price;  for  by  custom 
each  child  is  valued  at  a  sum  equal  to  the  purchase-price  of 
the  mother,  and,  if  the  child  is  killed  or  injured,  blood-money 
to  this  amount  can  be  demanded. 

If  a  girl  is  known  to  be  immoral,  her  parents  are  glad  to 
get  rid  of  her  for  a  very  small  sum,  and  both  she  and  the 
man  who  marries  her  are  looked  down  upon.  Should  a  man 
elope  with  a  girl,  there  is  apt  to  be  serious  trouble,  yet,  if  he 
pays  her  full  value  afterwards,  the  affair  is,  as  a  rule,  regarded 
as  settled.  Should  he  elope  with  a  girl  who  is  not  yet  of 
age,  the  matter  is  not  so  easily  adjusted.  Occasionally  a  girl 
is  sent  by  her  parents  to  a  man  known  to  be  of  good  character 
and  a  good  hunter.  She  is  sent  free,  as  it  were,  and  no  money- 
payment  is  asked.  The  man  is  not  obliged  to  accept  the 
girl;  but  to  be  refused  in  such  cases  is  considered  a  great 
disgrace. 

The  ordinary  people  rarely  buy  more  than  one  wife,  and,  if 
they  have  more  than  one,  the  others  are  generally  obtained 
through  the  custom  of  the  levirate,  or  by  capture  in  war. 
Inasmuch  as,  among  all  but  the  wealthy,  a  man's  brothers  and 
relatives  always  contribute  to  aid  him  in  buying  a  wife,  it  is 
regarded  as  only  proper  and  just,  that,  should  he  die,  the 
wife  whom  the  brother  has  helped  to  pay  for  should  be  given 
to  him  in  return  for  his  aid.  Failing  a  brother,  any  male 
relative  will  do.  When  a  man  has  more  than  one  wife,  the 
first  one  (or  the  one  he  purchased)  is  always  the  head  of  the 
family.  The  wealthy  can  and  often  do  buy  more  than  one 
wife,  and  in  such  cases,  where  all  are  obtained  on  the  same 
basis,  there  is  no  distinction  between  them. 

If  a  wife  fails  to  bear  children  to  her  husband,  his  parents 
complain  to  her  parents,  and,  if  the  wife  has  sisters  or  cousins 
who  are  unmarried,  the  wife's  family  sends  one  of  them  to  the 


464   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

man  as  a  second  wife,  free.  Sometimes,  however,  .the  hus 
band  simply  sends  his  wife  back  to  her  family,. who  are  then 
obliged  to  refund  to  him  the  original  purchase-money,  and 
are  obliged  to  return  just  the  same  sort  of  property  which  was 
originally  given.  If  the  wife  is  immoral,  whether  she  has 
borne  children  or  not,  the  husband  can  similarly  send  her 
home  and  receive  back  the  original  payment.  If  a  man 
chooses,  he  may  divorce  his  wife  at  any  time,  with  or  without 
reason,  and  send  her  home ;  but  if  he  cannot  prove  her  to  have 
been  immoral,  and  unless  she  is  barren,  he  can  claim  nothing 
from  her  family.  In  such  a  case,  or  if  in  either  of  the  other 
cases,  the  purchase-price  is  not  returned  by  the  wife's  family 
and  the.  woman  remarries,  the  first  husband's  relatives,  or 
he  himself,  will,  if  possible,  kill  the  second  husband.  If  the 
payment  originally  made  for  the  wife  is  refunded,  however, 
the  husband  and  his  relatives  cannot  object  to  any  remarriage. 
Usually  a  divorced  woman  does  not  remarry,  but  becomes 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  prostitute. 

A  woman  may  at  any  time  leave  her  husband,  if  she  has 
cause*  but  in  such  cases  her  family  always  force  her  to  re 
turn  at  once.  If  she  refuses,  she  may  be  killed.  Should  a 
man's  wife  die,  he  may  not  remarry  for  a  year,  and  then  only 
within  the  family  of  his  deceased  wife.  Should  her  family 
not  include  any  marriageable  person,  or  should  they  be  will 
ing,  he  may  take  as  his  second  wife  some  one  not  related  to 
his  first.  This  permission  must  in  all  cases,  however,  be 
obtained.  In  such  cases  of  a  second  marriage  inside  the  first 
wife's  family,  one  of  her  sisters  or  cousins  is  generally  chosen, 
and  for  her  a  small  payment  only  is  made. 

In  cases  of  adultery,  the  aggrieved  husband  always  kills 
the  man,  if  possible.  None  of  the  offender's  relatives  may 
interfere,  and  money-payment  is  never  even  offered  in  lieu 
of  the  blood-revenge.  When  the  man  has  been  killed,  both 
families  meet  together  and  settle  on  a  small  payment  for 
the  murder.  Should  a  man,  however,  have  been  too  poor 
to  pay  for  his  wife,  and  have  had,  as  above  described,  to  live 
with  his  father-in-law,  then,  in  case  of  adultery,  he  has  no 
redress  whatever.  •  He  may  leave  her  if  he  chooses,  to  be 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  465 

sure,  or  may  stay  with  her,  but  he  can  neither  get  damages 
from  her  family,  nor  take  revenge  on  the  man  who  has  wronged 
him. 

The  property  given  for  a  wife  formerly  varied  greatly,  but 
an  average  price  is  said  to  have  been  one  or  two  deerskins, 
fifteen  or  twenty  long  dentalia,  ten  or  fifteen  strings  of  disk 
beads,  and  twenty  or  thirty  woodpecker-scalps. 

DEATH  AND  BURIAL. — When  a  person  dies,  the  body  is  at 
once  taken  out  of  the  house  through  an  opening  made  in  the 
roof.  It  is  laid  out,  washed,  and  dressed  in  the  best  clothes 
the  person  has.  Should  the  death  be  a  sudden  one,  the  body 
is  kept  four  or  five  days  before  burial,  so  that  relatives  living 
at  a  distance  may  have  time  to  arrive.  During  this  time, 
the  body  lies  outside  the  house,  with  a  fire  burning  near  by, 
and  it  is  moved  about  from  time  to  time,  not  being  allowed 
to  remain  in  the  same  spot  for  more  than  an  hour  or  two. 
During  the  period  which  elapses  between  the  death  and  the 
burial,  the  relatives  must  sleep  but  very  little.  If  the  de 
ceased  has  been  ill  long,  the  burial  is  generally  immediate,  as 
all  the  friends  are  likely  to  be  near. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  body  has  been  prepared, 
relatives  and  friends  who  are  or  have  been  recently  ill,  or 
had  trouble  of  any  sort,  gather  about,  each  carrying  a  small 
fir  pole  some  two  metres  in  length,  trimmed  of  branches,  ex 
cept  at  the  tip.  The  relatives  and  friends  form  in  a  proces 
sion,  and  dance,  weeping,  in  a  ring  about  the  body,  speaking 
to  the  dead,  and  telling  him  that  he  is  going  to  another 
world,  and  begging  him  to  take  with  him  all  their  pains  and 
troubles,  and  carry  them  far  away.  This  is  kept  up  as  long 
as  the  body  remains  unburied,  one  party  changing  off  with 
another  in  the  dance.  When  this  portion  of  the  ceremony 
is  over,  the  nearest  relative  of  the  deceased  collects  the  poles 
carried  by  the  dancers,  and  piles  them  at  one  side,  to  be  used 
later  in  making  the  paling  about  the  grave."  A  fire  is  kept 
burning,  as  has  been  said,  near  the  body;  and  in  the  evening 
some  of  the  younger  people  go  off  and  collect  fir-branches, 
which  they  attach  to  their  heads  and  about  their  waists, 
neck,  arms,  and  legs,  and  then  return,  singing,  to  dance  about 

[September.  1907.}  30 


466   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

the  body.  If  the  man  has  been  killed  in  war,  the  dancers 
carry  bows  and  arrows,  and  knives,  instead  of  branches,  in 
their  hands.  After  the  dance  is  over,  the  fir-branches  are 
stripped  from  the  dancers  by  the  nearest  relative  of  the  de 
ceased,  and  piled  in  a  heap,  to  be  used  to  line  the  grave  with 
when  the  time  for  the  burial  arrives.  As  the  branches  are 
stripped  from  the  dancers,  several  men  seize  the  body,  and 
raise  it  high  in  the  air.  By  this  time,  the  body  has  probably 
been  already  rolled  in  skins,  and  securely  tied.  Near  rela 
tives,  at  this  time,  often  gash  their  arms  and  legs  as  a  sign 
of  mourning.  All  relatives  and  friends  who  come  to  the  cere 
mony  bring  a  little  shell-money,  which  they  lay  on  the  body. 
Part  of  the  beads  thus  given  are  buried  with  the  person, 
being  pounded  up  fine,  and  mixed  with  earth  or  sand,  and 
sprinkled  over  the  top  of  the  grave  after  it  is  filled  in.  Be 
sides  shell-money,  friends  and  relatives  bring,  as  a  rule,  some 
other  property  as  gifts  to  be  buried  with  the  deceased.  Of 
these  gifts,  they  get  a  portion  returned  to  them,  part  only 
being  buried. 

When  the  dance  is  over,  the  burial  takes  place.  This  oc 
curs  always  at  mid-day,  or  as  near  it  as  possible.  Two  rela 
tives,  as  a  rule,  dig  the  grave,  which  is  made  a  little  over  wraist- 
deep.  Each  village  has  its  own  graveyard,  generally  on  a 
small  flat  or  bench  near  by,  although,  in  some  cases,  as  much 
as  a  mile  or  more  away.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether 
the  grave-diggers  are  paid  for  their  work.  The  grave,  being 
prepared,  is  next  lined  with  fir-branches,  those  used  in  the 
dance  being  commonly  used.  The  body,  rolled  in  skins,  is  then 
placed  in  the  excavation,  extended,  and  lying  on  the  back,  the 
head  toward  the  east.  One  informant  stated  that  a  side 
excavation  is  made  at  the  bottom  of  the  grave-pit,  and  the  body 
put  into  it,  a  stone  being  then  placed  over  the  opening, 
and  the  pit  filled  in.  This  is  said  to  be  done  on  account  of 
grizzly  bears.  With  the  body  is  placed  the  man's  bow  and 
arrows,  spear,  and  other  implements;  or  baskets,  etc.,  with 
a  woman.  No  food  is  placed  in  the  grave,  however.  In  the 
case  of  a  man,  one  or  more  of  his  best  hunting-dogs  is  buried 
with  him,  the  dog  being  first  strangled  or  hung.  All  property 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  467 


put  into  the  grave  is  first  broken.  The  grave  is  filled  in  after 
these  objects  have  been  placed  within  it,  and  a  fence  is  built 
around  it,  of  the  poles  used  at  the  dance.  On  these  poles, 
baskets  are  placed,  the  poles  passing  through  holes  made  in 
the  bottoms  of  the  baskets. J 

The  burial  over,  all  present  go  and  bathe  and  then  return 
to  the  village.  The  house  occupied  by  the  deceased  is  thor 
oughly  swept  out  and  cleaned ;  and  the  sweepings,  with  much 
of  the  old  paraphernalia  lying  about,  are  burned.  Sometimes 
the  fir-branches  used  for  this  fire  are  those  worn  in  the  dance. 
Occasionally  the  house  is  burned  also. 

In  case  a  man  dies  far  from  home,  he  is  buried  in  the  local 
cemetery;  but  later,  when  the  body  has  decayed,  the  bones 
are  dug  up,  and  removed  to  the  burial-place  of  the  person's 
own  village.  The  local  residents  pay  for^having  the  bones 
exhumed  and  carried  away.  The  person  who  digs  up  the 
bones  and  carries  them  home  is  considered  unclean,  and  must 
fast  and  sweat  for  five  days.  Formerly  if  a  man  were  killed, 
or  died  at  a  distance,  he  was  in  some  cases  cremated,  instead 
of  buried  as  just  stated, 'and  only  the  heart  or  the  ashes  brought 
home  for  burial. 

A  five-days'  fast,  with  sweating,  is  also  obligatory  upon  the 
grave-diggers  and  all  near  relatives,  at  the  time  of  an  ordinary 
funeral.  At  the  end  of  this  period,  all  assemble  again,  and 
hold  a  "cry,"  and  then  disperse  to  their  own  homes.  At 
intervals,  for  a  year,  near  relatives  "cry"  for  the  dead;  but 
this  is  purely  an  individual  matter,  and  is  indulged  in  whenever 
desired. 

For  mourning,  both  men  and  women  cut  the  hair  short. 
The  hair  cut  off  is  burned  by  some  and  by  others  kept  carefully. 
In  case  of  a  widower,  it  is  obligatory  for  him  to  keep  his  hair 
short  till  he  remarries.  The  woman,  in  addition  to  cutting 
her  hair,  must  put  pitch  and  charcoal  on  her  head  and  face, 
sometimes  mixed  also  with  a  little  red  paint.  This  is  worn  for 
a  year,  at  any  rate.  If  she  is  taken  as  a  wife  by  her  husband's 
brother  or  relative,  under  the  custom  of  the  levirate,  the 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit.,  p.  71. 


468   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

pitch  is  not  worn  longer  than  this :  otherwise  it  may  be  worn 
for  several  years.  For  the  ten  days  after  her  husband's  death, 
the  widow  must  remain  alone,  and  take  daily  sweat-baths. 
Widows  and  widowers,  or  parents  who  have  lost  a  child,  must 
also  wear  a  belt  made  of  willow-bark  rolled  up,  or  of  the  hair 
cut  off  in  mourning  (see  Fig.  95). 

If  a  child  dies  within  five  days  after  birth,  it  is  given  no 
regular  funeral,  the  father  simply  burying  it  alone,  and  then 
remaining,  for  a  period  of  ten  days,  with  his  wife  in  her  men 
strual  hut.  This  occasion  is  the  only  one  on  which  a  man 
may  enter  these  huts.  Every  night  the  father  must  carry 
wood,  and  every  day  he  must  take  sweat-baths.  The  mother 
has  to  remain  in  the  hut  for  an  entire  month.  The  death  of 
the  child  brings  bad  luck  to  the  father,  and  he  must  therefore 
go  frequently  to  the  graveyard,  walk  about,  and  listen.  He 
will  then  hear  persons  talking  to  him,  but  cannot  see  them. 
He  talks  to  them  of  his  luck,  asks  that  he  may  hereafter  have 
better  success  than  before,  and  the  voices  then  tell  him  whether 
or  not  his  request  is  granted.  He  must  also  go  out  frequently 
at  night,  entirely  naked,  and  run  along  trails  through  the 
hills.  Should  he  see  anything  move,  or  hear  anything  cry 
out,  or  any  person  walking  or  running  behind  him,  he  must 
not  be  afraid.  If  he  jumps  or  gets  scared  under  such  con 
ditions,  he  will  lose  his  luck  again.  He  must,  on  these  lonely 
night-wanderings,  always  return  by  a  trail  different  from  that 
by  which  he  went. 

The  ceremonies  held  for  a  shaman  vary  little  from  those 
for  other  people,  just  described,  except  that  some  of  the 
shaman's  feather  ornaments  are  hung  up  about  the  grave, 
and  the  rocks  near  by  are  spotted  with  yellow  and  blue  paint. 

RELIGION. 

BELIEFS  REGARDING  THE  SOUL. — To  the  Shasta,  appar 
ently,  "ghost,"  "soul,"  and  "life"  are  practically  synony 
mous  terms.  Ghosts  are  much  feared,  and  are  seen  in  the 
form  of  flickering  flames  or  vague  lights,  chiefly  in  the 
vicinity  of  graveyards.  To  see  them  brings  bad  luck,  or 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  469 

even  death.  The  ghost  or  soul  often  is  thought  to  leave 
the  body  of  a  person  some  hours  before  death ;  and  there 
are  some  persons  who  have  the  faculty  of  seeing  these 
ghosts,  and  who  are  thus  able  to  tell  in  advance  that 
the  person  in  question  is  going  to  die.  The  shade,  on  such 
occasions,  detaches  itself  from  the  body,  goes  about  the 
house  (gathering  up  various  little  personal  effects),  and 
finally  goes  out  the  door  and  walks  away.  The  body  of  the 
sick  person  may  continue  to  breathe  for  hours;  but  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Shasta  the  life,  the  soul,  has  already  gone. 
No  shaman  is  able  to  bring  back  the  soul,  once  it  has  left 
the  body.  Sometimes  the  seer,  who  has  the  gift  of  seeing 
these  departing  souls,  may  be  miles  away  from  the  dying 
person,  but  yet  be  able  to  seethe  shade.1  In  some  cases,  the 
seers  .do  not  see  the  shade  itself,  but  merely  a  sort  of  shim 
mering,  white  trail,  on  which  dark-colored  footprints  form. 
These  tracks  slowly  and  silently  approach,  formed  by  no 
visible  object,  pass,  and  go  on  into  the  distance.  From  the 
characteristics  of  the  track,  the  seer  knows  at  once  whose 
shade  it  is  that  is  passing,  and  who  it  is  who  is  about  to  die. 
In  some  cases,  however,  the  soul  or  shade  does  not  leave  the 
body  till  death  is  apparent  to  the  watchers  by  the  body. 

On  leaving  the  body,  the  ghost  travels  slowly  westward, 
being  rejoiced  on  its  way  by  the  dances  held  at  the  funeral. 
At  some  point  far  to  the  west,  the  shade  ascends  to  the  sky, 
and,  travelling  along  the  Milky  Way,  passes  eastward  to  the 
other  world,  which,  by  the  Shasta,  does  not  seem  to  be  very 
clearly  conceived.  It  is,  however,  a  pleasant  place,  where 
food  is  always  plenty  and  the  ghosts  make  merry.  There 
is  a  certain  species  of  yellow-breasted  bird  which  sings  and 
whistles  in  a  plaintive  manner,  and  which  migrates  up  the  Kla- 
math  in  the  spring,  and  returns  to  the  west  in  the  autumn. 
These  small  birds  are  in  some  way  supposed  to  come  from  and 
return  to  the  land  of  the  dead.  Another  informant  gave  a 
different  belief  in  regard  to  the  soul;  namely  that  it,  or  the 
"heart,"  rose  to  the  sky  at  once  on  the  death  of  a  person,  and 

1  Laflesche,  Death  and  Funeral  Customs  among  the  Omaha  (Journal  of  American 
Folk-Lore  Society,  Vol.  II,  pp.  3-12). 


4/O   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

that  it  could  be  heard  rising,  and  finally  causing  a  dull  thud 
or  muffled  boom  as  it  struck  the  solid  vault  of  the  sky. 

CONCEPTIONS  OF  THE  WORLD.  — The  general  ideas  as  to  the 
origin  and  shape  of  the  world  appear  to  be  rather  vague. 
There  is  among  the  Shasta,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered,  no 
clear  idea  of  a  creation;  the  world,  in  some  form  or  other, 
having  always,  in  their  opinion,  existed.  Of  a  Creator  there 
is  little  trace,  and  his  place  seems  filled  very  inadequately 
by  Coyote  and  one  or  two  other  beings ;  the  former  not  as 
consistently  evil-minded  or  so  much  of  a  pure  trickster  as 
among  the  Maidu,  for  example. 

Five  is,  among  the  Shasta,  emphatically  the  sacred  number, 
and  appears  constantly  in  the  ceremonials  and  myths,  either 
singly  or  in  multiple,  as  ten  or  fifteen.  There  seems,  however, 
to  be  no  trace  of  the  fifth  cardinal  point  found  among  the 
Maidu. * 

The  entire  area  occupied  by  the  Shasta  is  thought  of  as 
thronged  with  spiritual,  mysterious  powers,  spoken  of  as 
Axe'ki,  or  ''pains."  These  are  conceived  of  in  human  form 
(rather  shorter  than  the  ordinary  stature) ,  and  as  inhabiting 
rocks,  cliffs,  lakes,  and  mountain  summits,  and  rapids  and 
eddies  in  streams.  Many  animals  are  also  regarded  as  Axe'ki. 
They  are  the  cause  of  all  disease,  death,  and  trouble,  and 
become  the  guardians  of  the  shamans,  and  are  often  inherited 
by  them. 

MISCELLANEOUS  BELIEFS.  —  If  the  new  moon,  when  it  rises, 
has  the  points  of  the  crescent  directed  upward,  there  will 
be  sickness,  and  no  rain.  If  the  points  are  turned  in  the 
opposite  direction,  or  horizontally,  there  will  be  rain,  but  no 
sickness. 

An  eclipse  of  the  moon  is  due  to  the  dog  that  follows  the 
moon,  eating  it  up,  People  talk,  therefore,  to  the  dog,  en 
treating  it  to  desist,  and  howl  and  shout  to  frighten  it  away. 

Splinters  from  a  tree  struck  by  lightning,  if  burned,  will 
cause  a  thunderstorm.  Seaweed,  if  brought  inland,  will  also 
cause  a  storm,  which  may  be  averted,  however,  by  burying 
the  seaweed. 

1  See  this  volume,  p.  264. 


1907.]  Dixon ,  The  Shasta .  471 

If  children  do  not  learn  the  stories  that  are  repeated  to 
them,  they  will  grow  up  hump-backed.  Boys  are  not  allowed 
to  eat  the  fat  on  the  joint  of  the  hind  legs  of  the  deer,  or  that 
at  the  back  of  the  ears,  for  if  they  should  eat  it  they  would 
have  weak  knees  and  poor  hearing. 

If  boys  mock  the  bird  known  as  ku'kwax,  their  hair  will 
get  full  of  lice. 

If  a  stranger  goes  up  on  a  high  ridge  in  summer-time,  and 
rolls  about  or  tramples  on  the  grass,  it  will  rain.  There  is 
also  a  kind  of  root  that  grows  high  up  in  the  hills.  If  this 
be  burned,  the  sky  clouds  over  at  once,  and  rain  will  surely 
fall  in  two  or  three  days. 

If  parhelia  are  seen  near  the  sun  at  rising,  it  betokens  war. 
If  one  of  the  mock-suns  fades  before  the  other,  then  the  per 
sistent  one  points  in  the  direction  of  those  who  are  to  be 
beaten  in  the  conflict. 

SHAMANISM.  —  The  Shasta  shamans  are  persons  of  great 
importance  in  the  community,  and  in  them  and  their  ceremo 
nials  almost  the  whole  ritual  of  the  people  is  included.  So 
far  as  known,  the  features  connected  with  the  shamans  are 
substantially  alike  throughout  the  Shasta  area,  but  the  de 
scription  here  given  applies  strictly,  however,  only  to  the 
Shasta  of  the  Klamath  River  and  Scott  Valley. 

Unlike  the  Maidu,  the  Shasta  shamans  are  largely  women. 
Male  shamans  are  known,  however,  and  are  more  numerous  in 
some  sections  than  in  others.  For  the  most  part,  the  position 
of  shaman  is  hereditary,  although  it  does  not  always  happen 
that  the  children  of  a  shaman  follow  in  their  parent's  footsteps. 
In  any  case,  the  child  cannot  become  a  shaman  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  parent. 

The  first  indications  that  a  person  has  that  he  or  she  is  to 
be  a  shaman  are  dreams.  These  dreams  are  of  various  sorts. 
Sometimes  the  ghost  of  the  person's  mother  or  father,  or  some 
earlier  ancestor,  comes  in  the  dreams.  Or  the  vision  may  be 
of  some  great  rock  or  cliff.  These  dreams  recur  again  and 
again,  till  the  person  becomes  impressed  and  alarmed.  In 
other  cases,  and  apparently  more  commonly,  the  dream  is  a 
sort  of  nightmare,  as  of  a  skeleton  boat,  of  falling  from  a 


47  2   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII , 

cliff  or  tree,  of  just  keeping  out  of  the  reach  of  a  grizzly  bear, 
or  of  being  on  a  steep  side-hill  above  a  great  lake,  and  diving 
into  the  latter  from  a  great  height;  in  all  cases  the  dreamer 
awakening  with  a  start  just  before  the  final  catastrophe. 
After  a  more  or  less  protracted  period  during  which  these 
dreams  recur,  the  person  dreams  of  swarms  of  yellow- jackets. 
This  is  regarded  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the  supernatural 
character  of  the  dreams,  as  the  yellow-jackets  are  Axe'ki, 
or  "pains."  While  these  dreams  are  occurring,  the  person 
must  eat  no  meat,  nor  eat  in  company  with  people  who  are 
eating  meat:  indeed,  not  even  the  smell  of  meat  cooking  must 
be  inhaled.  Eating  must  also  be  done  very  slowly. 

As  soon  as  it  becomes  certain  that  the  person  is  to  become 
a  shaman,  he  or  she  must  at  once  begin  to  get  together  a 
number  of  things  which  every  shaman  must  have,  and  must 
begin  to  paint  as  shamans  do.  If  the  dreamer  takes  no  notice 
of  the  dreams,  and  fails  to  carry  out  the  requisite  food- 
restrictions,  he  or  she  will  certainly  fall  ill,  and,  a  shaman 
being  called  in  to  cure  them,  the  real  cause  of  the  sickness  will 
be  discovered.  Continued  refusal  to  accept  the  position  of 
shaman  often  results  in  the  death  of  the  person.'  The  para 
phernalia  with  which  a  shaman  is  supposed  to  be  provided 
are  numerous.  In  general,  they  consist  of  the  following  list: 
ten  buck-skins,  ten  silver-gray  fox-skins,  ten  wolf-skins,  ten 
coyote-skins,  ten  fisher-skins,  ten  otter-skins,  ten  small  dish- 
baskets,  ten  small  bowl-baskets,  the  tail  and  wing  feathers  of 
the  eagle  (ten  each) ,  and  the  tails  of  ten  yellow-hammers  and 
of  ten  large  woodpeckers.  Other  things  (not  necessarily  in 
tens)  are  a  supply  of  red,  blue,  and  yellow  paint,  and  a  buck 
skin  pierced  full  of  holes,  to  be  thrown  over  the  head  while 
sleeping.  The  collection  of  this  considerable  amount  of 
property  often  consumes  several  years;  but  the  novice  must 
have  the  list  complete  before  he  or  she  is  allowed  to  attempt 
the  cure  of  a  sick  person,  or  to  take  the  part  of  a  real  shaman. 

When  the  dreams  above  referred  to  begin,  and  the  person  is 
convinced  that  she  (for,  as  already  stated,  the  majority  of 
shamans  are  women)  is  destined  to  become  a  shaman,  she 
informs  her  family,  and  they  watch  her  closely.  She  goes 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  473 

about  her  usual  work  for  a  time,  and  then  suddenly  some  day, 
late  in  the  afternoon,  she  hears  a  man  speak  to  her  in  a  clear, 
ringing  tone  of  great  intensity.  The  voice  always  appears 
to  come  from  directly  above  her  head.  She  turns  at  once, 
and  sees  a  man  standing  behind  her  holding  a  bow  and  arrow, 
the  arrow  drawn  and  pointing  directly  at  her  heart.  The 
man  tells  her  he  wishes  her  to  sing  whatever  he  commands, 
and  threatens  to  shoot  if  she  does  not  acquiesce.  All  of  this 
happens  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  that  she  immediately 
falls  senseless  to  the  ground.  While  in  this  swoon,  the  woman 
breathes  very  faintly,  and  lies  perfectly  rigid  and  still.  The 
family,  who  have  been  waiting  for  this  seizure,  now  begin  to 
cry  and  wail,  and  call  in  all  the  neighbors.  After  sunset,  the 
woman  begins  to  moan  gently,  and  to  roll  about  on  the  ground, 
trembling  violently  all  over.  It  is  supposed,  that,  while  the 
woman  is  in  her  trance,  the  Axe'ki  who  appeared  to  her  sings 
her  a  song,  which  she  learns,  and  repeats  faintly  now  as  she 
moans  and  whines  on  the  ground.  She  slowly  revives,  and 
then  sings  the  song  clearly  and  strongly,  and  in  this  the 
Axe'ki  is  supposed  to  accompany  her  by  a  faint  humming. 
At  this  time  he  tells  her  his  name  and  the  place  where  he 
lives.  After  a  time  she  calls  out  the  name  of  the  Axe'ki,  and 
at  this,  blood  oozes  from  her  mouth,  usually  ten  times  in 
succession. 

She  gradually  comes  completely  to  herself,  rises  to  her 
feet,  and  then  dances,  holding  herself  up  by  a  rope  which 
is  hung  from  the  roof.  The  next  feature  of  the  ceremony 
is  for  her  to  carry  out  the  commands  of  the  Axe'ki.  She 
may,  for  example,  at  his  request,  ask  those  present  to  carry 
her  ten  times  about  the  fire.  This  is  done  as  she  lies  at  full- 
length  on  an  elk-skin,  which  is  then  lifted  by  four  men,  who 
carry  the  woman  around  the  fire,  head  first,  and  deposit  her 
on  the  ground  again,  with  her  head  to  the  east.  The  circuit 
is  always  sinistral.  Or  the  novice  may  ask  to  be  swung  ten 
times  over  the  fire.  This  is  done  by  those  present  stretching 
a  rope  horizontally  across  the  house  above  the  fire,  from 
which  rope  the  woman  hangs  by  her  knees  (head  downward, 
and  toward  the  east),  and  is  then  swung  back  and  forth 


474   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

across  the  fire  ten  times.  This  completed,  she  stands  up  and 
again  dances,  facing  now  the  place  where  the  Axe'ki  lives.1 
She  continues  to  repeat  her  song,  and  also  other  things  which 
the  Axe'ki  has  told  her. 

The  day  following  this  first  ceremonial,  the  woman  sleeps, 
and  eats  very  sparingly,  drinking  water  which  has  had  acorn- 
meal  stirred^into  it.  The  following  night  she  dances  again, 
as  before;  and  so  for  three  days  and  nights.  On  the  third 
night,  if  she  has  carried  out  the  Axe'ki's  commands  and 
omitted  nothing  of  the  dance  or  songs,  he  comes  to  her  again. 
He  says,  "I  shall  shoot  you  with  this  pain  (Axe'ki)  to  see  if 
you  are  strong  enough  to  stand  it.  If  you  are,  you  shall  be 
my  friend,  my.  companion."  The  novice  meanwhile  is  dan 
cing,  and  when  she  hears  the  Axe'ki  speak,  she  calls  out,  "He 
will  shoot  me.  He  is  going  to  shoot  me."  The  friends  stand 
about;  and  when,  a  moment  later,  the  novice  is  supposed  to 
be  shot  by  the  Axe'ki,  they  rush  up,  and  catch  her  as  she 
reels  and  falls,  stiffening  again  in  a  sort  of  cataleptic  seizure. 
They  must  catch  her  before  she  falls,  or  she  will  die.  The 
novice,  now  senseless  again,  is  laid  gently  on  a  buckskin,  and 
all  keep  very  quiet.  By  and  by  she  revives,  and  sings  her 
song  once  more.  Now  she  is  supposed  to  have  the  pain 
shot  by  the  Axe'ki  in  her  body,  and,  getting  up,  she  dances, 
and,  as  she  does  so,  takes  the  pain  out  of  her  body,  and 
shows  it  to  all  present.  These  pains,  which  are  called  by 
the  same  term  (Axe'ki)  as  the  mysterious  beings  who  shoot 
them,  are  described  generally  as  looking  like  tiny  icicles. 
Some,  however,  are  as  much  as  fifteen  centimetres  long, 
spindle-shaped,  and  very  sharp  at  the  ends.  The  pain  is 
held  by  the  dancer  in  her  closed  fist,  just  the  point  being 
allowed  to  protrude.  After  a  while  she  presses  her  hand  to 
her  forehead,  and  the  pain  disappears.  Later  the  dancer 
stoops,  and  may  take  the  pain  out  of  her  heel,  for  instance. 
She  passes  it  into  one  ear,  and  takes  it  out  of  the  other.  The 
more  powerful  the  Axe'ki  and  the  greater  the  shaman,  the 
larger  are  these  pains.  Finally,  she  puts  the  pain  into  one 

1  The  most  important  are  said  to  be  those  living  along  the  Stewart  and  Rogue 
Rivers  in  Oregon. 


i go 7.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  475 

shoulder,  and  takes  it  out  of  the  other.  On  this  third  night, 
and  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  nights  of  her  dance,  other  Axe'ki 
come  to  the  novice,  and  each  may  give  her  a  pain;  so  that  at 
the  end  of  the  five-nights'  dancing  she  may  have  four  or  five 
of  them.  All  shamans  seem  to  have  three  pains  at  least,  and 
to  carry  these  about  in  their  body  all  the  time,  one  being  in 
each  shoulder,  and  one  in  the  back  of  the  head.  For  this 
reason  it  is  very  dangerous  to  touch  or  strike  a  shaman  at 
these  points,  as  to  do  so  angers  the  pain,  and  death  is  likely 
to  be  the  result  for  the  person  who  has  touched  or  struck  them. 

The  five  days  and  nights  being  over,  the  novice  ceases  to 
dance,  and  does  not  begin  again  till  the  following  winter. 
For  ten  days  after  the  dance  is  over,  she  must  continue  her 
fasting,  and  only  at  the  end  of  that  period  may  she  again 
eat  meat,  or  eat  with  other  people.  During  the  interval  of 
many  months  which  elapses  before  she  again  begins  to  dance , 
she  lives  very  quietly,  has  no  dreams,  and  does  not  attempt 
in  any  way  to  "practise "  as  a  shaman.  Meanwhile  her  family 
aid  her  in  gathering  the  list  of  skins  and  other  things  detailed 
above. 

When  the  winter  period  comes  again,  the  novice  announces 
her  intention  of  dancing  once  more ;  and  all  her  friends  and 
relatives,  together  with  an  older  shaman  or  two,  assemble 
for  the  affair.  Should  she  have  been  unsuccessful  in  getting 
together  all  the  things  needed,  she  delays  the  ceremony  till 
the  following  year.  Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  father 
of  the  novice,  provided  he  be  not  a  shaman  himself,  cuts,  and 
sets  up  in  the  ground  outside  the  house,  a  pole  some  three  or 
four  metres  high,  and  decorates  it  with  paint  and  a  few  feathers. 
About  sundown,  the  novice  and  an  older  shaman  (often  a 
man)  go  to  the  pole,  and  the  novice  requests  the  shaman  to 
call  her  Axe'ki,  or  guardian,  telling  the  man  what  words  to 
use.  The  novice  then  returns  to  the  house  and  goes  to  sleep, 
the  man  meanwhile  calling  on  the  Axe'ki  to  come.  While 
the  novice  sleeps,  all  the  guests  and  friends  keep  very  quiet, 
and  move  about,  if  they  have  to,  very  slowly  and  softly.  After 
a  time,  the  novice  begins  to  roll  about,  and  whine  and  moan, 
as  on  the  occasion  of  her  first  attack.  She  then  gets  up  and 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

sings  and  dances,  till,  about  midnight,  the  Axe'ki  arrives.  As 
soon  as  this  occurs,  the  woman  lies  down  again  and  sleeps, 
while  all  the  guests  eat  and  talk  quietly  together.  Before 
daylight,  the  Axe'ki  is  supposed  to  leave,  as  he  must  get 
back  to  his  home  before  dawn.  If  the  woman  has  more  than 
one  Axe'ki  for  her  guardian,  she  asks  her  father  to  set  up 
more  than  one  pole,  there  being  as  many  poles  as  the  novice 
has  guardians.  The  objects  mentioned  in  the  list  on  p.  472 
must  apparently  be  provided  for  each  of  these  Axe'ki;  and 
the  objects  themselves  are  at  this  ceremony  piled  up  at  the 
foot  of  the  pole  for  the  Axe'ki  to  see.  The  sleeping,  dancing, 
and  singing  are  continued  by  the  novice  for  three  nights,  as 
above,  and  then,  and  only  then,  is  she  regarded  as  a  completely 
qualified  shaman. 

All  these  dances  and  ceremonies  are  held  in  the  novice's 
own  house.  Each  of  the  Axe'ki  whom  the  woman  secures 
as  a  guardian  tells  her  how  he  wishes  her  to  paint  for  him, 
and  each  tells  her  a  slightly  different  way.  The  shamans  are 
usually  "made,"  in  the  manner  described,  during  the  winter 
season;  for  it  is  then  that  the  Axe'ki  are  supposed  to  be  about, 
standing  invisibly  near  the  houses,  watching  people  all  the 
time.  The  Axe'ki  are  scattered  all  over  the  country.  Some 
live  in  rocks  or  mountains;  others,  in  streams  or  lakes;  and 
there  are  also  Axe'ki  (or  an  Axe'ki)  in  the  sun,  the  moon, 
and  various  stars,  as  well  as  in  the  rainbow.  A  large  number 
of  animals  are  themselves  Axe'ki.  The  Axe'ki  are  always 
trying  to  shoot  people  with  the  pains  which  they  carry, 
and  for  this  reason  ordinary  people  avoid  the  spots  where 
Axe'ki  are  known  to  live.  Even  shamans  dislike  sometimes 
to  go  to  their  dwelling-places,  for,  if  the  shaman  has  failed 
to  heed  in  every  particular  the  commands  of  the  Axe'ki,  the 
latter  will  shoot  and  kill  her.  To  the  shaman,  her  Axe'ki 
friends  tell  everything,  what  to  eat  and  when,  and,  in  fact, 
prescribe  her  every  action.  Some  of  the  Axe'ki  are  much  more 
powerful  than  others,  the  most  important  and  powerful  of  all 
living,  as  before  stated,  on  the  Rogue  River.  The  more  power 
ful  the  Axe'ki  the  shaman  has  as  her  guardian,  the  greater 
feats  she  can  perform.  As  a  rule,  the  shaman  can  only  hold 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  477 

converse  with  the  AxVki  at  night.  The  Axe'ki  tell  the  shaman, 
in  advance,  when  a  person  is  going  to  be  shot  and  made  ill. 
After  a  person  becomes  a  shaman,  she  is  able  to  see  all 
over  the  country,  and  discover  the  Axe'ki  everywhere.  She 
can  also  hear  them  singing  all  the  time,  and  there  are  so  many 
of  them,  that  it  sounds  "like  a  field  of  locusts."  A  given 
Axe'ki  is  the  friend  or  guardian  of  one  particular  shaman,  and 
has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  any  one  else;  although 
other  shamans  can  hear  him  singing,  of  course.  An  Axe'ki 
is,  as  a  rule,  hereditary  in  a  family,  being  the  guardian  of 
generation  after  generation  of  shamans.  Sometimes  an 
Axe'ki  may  desert  a  family  and  go  over  to  another  shaman. 
Besides  these  pledged  Axe'ki,  there  are  a  great  number  of 
friendless  ones,  —  those  whp  owe  no  allegiance  to  any  family, 
and  may,  in  consequence,  be  acquired  by  any  shaman.  These 
unpledged  Axe'ki  vary  greatly  in  power,  and,  if  a  shaman 
has  good  luck,  she  may  attract  to  herself  several  of  these, 
of  greater  power  than  those  inherited. 

It  is  thought  that  a  powerful  shaman  can  make  another 
person-  a  shaman,  if  he  or  she  wills.  To  do  this,  the  person 
wishing  to  become  a  shaman  lies  on  the  ground,  and  the  one 
who  is  to  perform  the  ceremony  stands  behind  him  or  her,  hold 
ing  a  pai-n  in  each  hand.  These  she  points  at  the  novice's  ears, 
when  blood  is  supposed  to  flow  at  once,  thus  "clearing  the 
ears,"  so  that  he  or  she  maybe  able  to  hear  the  Axe'ki  singing. 
The  shaman  then  proceeds  to  put  a  pain  into  the  person's 
forehead,  between  the  eyes,  after  which  the  person's  eyes  are 
supposed  to  be  opened,  so  that  he  or  she  can  see  the  Axe'ki. 
A  very  large  fee  has  to  be  paid  to  the  officiating  shaman  for 
these  services,  and  then,  when  this  stage  of  the  ceremony 
has  been  reached,  the  novice  has  to  proceed  as  any  other 
novice,  and  as  already  described. 

As  stated  already,  every  shaman  receives  from  each  Axe'ki 
a  pain  in  the  form  of  a  small  spindle-shaped  object  looking 
like  ice.  These  are  what  are  shot  into  people  by  the  Axe'ki 
themselves,  or  by  shamans,  and  which,  on  entering  the  body, 
cause  disease  and  death.  On  the  death  of  a  shaman,  all  the 
pains  in  her  possession  go  back  to  the  various  Axe'ki  from 


4/8   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


whom  they  originally  came,  and  are  given  out  again  by  the 
several  Axe'ki  to  the  next  generation  of  friends.  It  is  said 
that  the  pains,  on  being  shot  into  a  person,  live  upon  him, 
and  thus  cause  his  death.  They  may  occupy  a  period  of 
years  in  bringing  about  the  death  of  the  individual,  and, 
the  longer  they  remain  in  the  body,  the  larger  they  grow. 
A  shaman  can  see  the  pains  in  the  bodies  of  other  persons 
into  whom  they  have  been  shot.  When  a  shaman  comes  to  a 
patient,  her  songs  make  the  pain  weak,  and  draw  it  to  the 
surface,  so  that  it  can  easily  be  extracted.  When  taken  out, 
blood  oozes  from  it,  this  blood  being  that  of  the  person  on 
whom  it  has  been  preying  as  a  sort  of  parasite. 

The  methods  of  cure  employed  by  a  shaman  vary  according 
to  the  special  case.  In  general,  however,  they  are  as  follows. 
On  being  summoned,  the  shaman  sets  out,  but  stops  about 
half  a  mile  from  where  the  patient  lives.  Here  the  shaman 
smokes,  and  as  she  (or  he)  does  so,  her  Axe'ki  tells  her  all  about 
the  case,  and  how  long  the  patient  is  likely  to  live,  if  not  cured. 
After  a  halt  of  about  an  hour,  the  shaman  gets  up  and  goes  on 
to  the  patient's  house.  Friends  are  assembled,  and  the  sha 
man  dances  and  sings,  watching  the  patient  carefully  the  while. 
The  songs  are  supposed  to  be  repetitions  of  what  her  Axe'ki 
is  saying  to  the  dancer,  and  the  latter  tells  the  name  of  the 
Axe'ki  by  whose  aid  she  hopes  to  cure  the  patient.  The 
people  present  then  say,  "Kus  ya  mai'i  kwa'x6'o  umtaxa/waki 
kwe'  tirak.  Kus  i'skwa  taha'tsu  kihinte'ki  mai'itsi  sida'  makai' 
idiwa/6"  ("Nowthou  art  speaking!  He  lives  at  Umtaka'wa. 
Now,  O  person,  I  wish  you  to  doctor  him.  You,  too,  are  a 
shaman? ")  The  shaman  then  rests  a  while,  and  again  dances. 
The  patient  then  addresses  the  shaman,  saying,  "  Yi!  mi'kat- 
sug£  idiwa/6  tee'kwai  sdwa'hosig.  k!i''atsu  i'nna.  Kus 
ta'rakayaho  kwi'kli.  K!e'hanoni  sti'kisi,  'ku'skwa  ya^a1  we 
idiwa/6"'  ("Yi!  That  one,  a  doctor  he  calls  himself  when  he 
talks.  Look!  Now  underground  you  will  be,  when  you  say 
'I  am  a  shaman'").  The  shaman  at  this  begins  to  suck  at 
the  seat  of  pain,  and  sucks  out  some  red,  black,  or  yellow 
clotted  substance.  This  is  not  the  pain,  but  is  done  merely 
to  "clear  the  system."  After  removing  this  from  the  patient, 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  479 


the  shaman  dances  anew,  approaching  toward  and  receding 
from  the  patient,  till  suddenly,  making  a  rush,  she  seizes  the 
pain,  and  pulls  it  out  in  her  hands.  Sometimes  the  shaman 
exhibits  the  pain,  sometimes  not.  Apparently  it  is  not 
always  clear  and  crystal-like,  being  described  as  occasionally 
resembling  a  fragment  of  bone  or  wood. 

The  pain,  once  extracted,  may  be  disposed  of  in  various 
ways.  It  may  simply  be  thrown  violently  away  in  the 
direction  of  the  Axe'ki  who  is  supposed  to  have  sent  it,  this- 
motion  being  accompanied  by  a  long-drawn  sound  resem 
bling  "brrrrrr,"  made  entirely  with  the  lips.  In  other  in 
stances,  the  hands  holding  the  pain  are  put  into  a  basket  of 
warm  water,  and  the  pain  left  there  to  soak  a  while,  with  an 
open-work  tray-basket  placed  over  the  top  of  the  basket  as 
a  cover.  After  the  pain  has  been  thoroughly  softened,  it  is 
taken  out  and  placed  in  a  half  mussel-shell,  with  a  small  quan 
tity  of  various  herbs  and  roots  in  powdered  form.  Some  pitch 
is  put  over  the  whole,  the  other  half  of  the  mussel-shell  put 
over  it  all  as  a  cover,  and  then  the  whole  thing  put  in  a  hole 
in  the  embers,  the  fire  being  quickly  raked  over  all.  If  the 
pain  is  supposed  to  have  been  sent  or  shot  by  some  other 
shaman  who  is  trying,  either  for  personal  revenge  or  for  money, 
to  kill  the  patient,  the  pajn  is  broken.  This  is  thought  to  cause 
the  immediate  death  of  the  guilty  person,  and  the  broken 
pain  is  supposed  at  once  to  depart  to  the  grave  of  its  owner, 
and  remain  there.  In  still  other  cases,  the  shaman  who 
extracts  the  pain  will  put  it  in  her  mouth,  chew  it  up,  and 
swallow  it.  Sometimes,  instead  of  sucking  directly  at  the  seat 
of  pain,  the  shaman  places  one  or  two  eagle-feathers  with 
their  tips  on  the  body  and  their  butts  in  her  mouth,  and, 
while  sucking  on  these,  runs  her  hand  down  the  feathers, 
squeezing  out  blood,  which  is  collected  in  a  basket  of  water. 

New  shamans  rarely  receive  payment  for  their  services, 
and  only  as  they  grow  older  and  more  experienced  do  they 
make  a  charge  for  their  performances.  If  a  patient  dies,  the 
shaman  receives  only  half  the  fee ;  and  if  too  many  of  a  person's 
patients  fail  to  recover,  the  shaman  is  killed,  for  it  is  believed 
that  a  shaman  can  always  cure  a  patient  if  she  only  wishes  to. 


480  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

The  shamans  themselves  are  informed  by  their  Axe'ki  when 
the  time  comes  for  their  death,  and,  as  the  time  approaches, 
all  a  shaman's  Axe'ki  desert  her,  and  no  other  Axe'ki  will 
aid  in  extracting  pains  from  her  body,  so  that  the  shaman 
inevitably  dies.  In  order  to  get  a  shaman  to  try  to  kill  an 
enemy  by  shooting  a  pain  into  him,  a  large  payment  has  to 
be  made,  inasmuch  as  it  is  very  risky  work.  Shamans  are 


Fig.  115 


Shaman's  Head-dress.      Length,  114  cm. 


supposed  sometimes  to  send  a  mild  pain  to  a  village,  making 
many  persons  ill;  and  then  the  shaman  herself  comes  to  the 
place  on  a  visit,  having  prepared  in  this  way  professional 
work  in  advance. 


1907.]  .Dixon,  The  Shasta.  481 

The  paints  and  ornaments  worn  by  shamans  while  offi 
ciating  vary  a  good  deal.  Yellow  paint  made  from  pine- 
pollen,  or  from  that  of  the  alder  or  hazel,  may  be  used  only  by 
shamans.  Blue  may  be  used  by  shamans  whose  Axe'ki  is 
the  sun;  but  they  also  use  red  and  yellow,  painting  three 
parallel  curves  from  the  forehead  to  the  chin,  on  one  side  of 
the  face  (one  curve  of  each  color) ,  the  whole  representing  the 
rainbow.  Other  shamans  put  stripes,  lines,  and  dots  on  the 
face  and  breast.  Shamans  having  the  rattlesnake  as  an 
Axe'ki  use  dust  as  a  paint. 

If  a  shaman  has  the  rattlesnake  as  one  of  her  Axe'ki,  she 
wears  a  rattlesnake-skin  bound  about  her  forehead.  Her 
pipe-stem  is  also  covered  with  the  skin,  and  about  her  neck 
she  wears  a  collar  of  the  tail-feathers  of  the  large  woodpecker, 
to  which  rattlesnake-rattles  are  attached.  These  decorations 
are  used  only  when  doctoring  a  patient  who  has  been  bitten 
by  a  rattlesnake.  It  is  not  essential  to  have  a  shaman  who 
has  the  rattlesnake  as  an  Axe'ki,  under  such  conditions ;  but 
it  is  regarded  as  better  to  have  one,  if  possible.  In  Fig.  115, 
one  form  of  a  shaman's  head-dress  is  shown.  It  consists  of 
a  head-band  of  otter-skin,  from  which  depends,  behind,  a  long 
strip  of  the  same  skin,  nearly  to  the  waist.  The  head-band 
is  decorated  with  a  feather  pompon  in  the  centre,  and  pendant 
feathers;  while  the  back  portion  falling  down  behind  has 
attached  to  it  feather  bands,  tassels,  and  pendants,  together 
with  shells.  A  belt  worn  by  shamans  is  shown  in  Fig.  116. 
This  belt  is  tied  around  the  waist  by  strings  attached  to  the 
inside  of  the  belt,  several  inches  from  its  ends,  thus  leaving 
these  ends  napping  behind.  To  the  belt  an  abundance  of 
shells  and  beads  are  attached,  together  with  feather  tassels. 
The  head-dress  shown  in  Fig.  117  may  be  a  shaman's  head 
dress,  or  it  may  be  one  worn  in  one  of  the  dream-dances 
which  form  part  of  the  ghost-dance  as  it  reached  this  section 
some  thirty  years  ago.  It  consists  of  a  painted  buckskin 
band,  to  which  are  attached  erect  feathers,  a  large  wood 
pecker's  scalp  and  bill,  rattlesnake-rattles,  and  pendant 
feathers  or  tassels.  With  this  is  worn  the  painted  buckskin 
skirt  shown  in  Plate  LXXII.  Another  head-dress  is  shown 

[September,  1007.}  31 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


483 


484  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

in  Fig.  1 1 8.  This  is  definitely  declared  to  be  worn  in  the 
dream-dance,  and  is  made  of  a  strip  of  otter-skin,  to  which 
feathers,  shells,  and  tassels  are  thickly  attached. 

The  previously  given  account  of  the  ceremonial  performed 
by  the  shamans  seems  to  apply  to  the  great  majority;  but 
those  who  have  the  rattlesnake  or  the  grizzly  bear  as  their 
Axe'ki  appear  to  follow  somewhat  different  lines.  When  the 
rattlesnake  shaman  comes  to  a  patient  who  has  been  bitten, 
she  first  sucks  out  the  poison,  and  then  tells  a  friend  of  the 
sufferer,  that  she  sees  the  rattlesnake  Axe'ki,  but  that  he 
is  angry  and  will  not  look  at  her.  The  friend  must  then 
speak  to  the  Axe'ki,  calling  him  by  name,  and  saying,  "Ma 
i'nna  sku'tayak.  Karaho'pigho  karisa'ya  ku'tayak"  ("Not 
that  do  to  me.  Pity  me.  Do  good  to  me").  The  shaman 
then,  after  a  few  minutes'  speaking  of  the  Axe'ki,  whom  she 
sees  somewhere  far  away,  says,  "Kus  kwa'okwahir"  ("Now 
he  lights  his  pipe").  The  Axe'ki  is  now  supposed  to  smoke 
a  while,  and  then  to  speak  to  the  shaman,  who  reports  to  the 
patient  and  friend,  "Kus  kwr"ag"  ("Now  he  looks  around"). 
The  Axe'ki  then  says  to  the  shaman,  "  Ki'yakahammak  a'ts- 
waxki'kki  etcehe'wiyu  ta'rakato  i'rutupsur"  ("Hang  it  on 
the  wall.  Pine-bark  ten  earth's  pollen").  This  refers  to  the 
hanging-up,  at  this  stage  of  the  ceremony,  of  a  sample  of  the 
beads  and  other  things  to  be  given  as  payment  to  the  shaman 
for  curing  the  patient.  In  addition,  the  Axe'ki  demands  for 
himself  a  piece  of  pine-bark  on  which  are  placed  ten  small 
heaps  of  puff-ball  spores,  which  are  called  "pollen  of  the 
earth."  The  request  having  been  complied  with,  the  friend 
of  the  patient  says  to  the  shaman,  "  Kus  i'skwa  kihinte'ki. 
Kus  kwi'kennumuk  ma'mu  k!aho'tsk!ihampig"  ("Now  do 
you  dance  and  doctor.  Now  I  have  given  you  the  things 
you  asked  for").  The  shaman  then  puts  on  the  snake  para 
phernalia,  and  dances,  the  rattlesnake  Axe'ki  being  supposed 
to  dance  in  unison  at  his  home  far  away. 

If  a  man  be  bitten  by  a  grizzly  bear,  the  grizzly  Axe'ki  must 
be  called  on  to  cure  him.  As  in  the  case. of  the  rattlesnake, 
a  friend  of  the  wounded  man  must  call  the  grizzly  Axe'ki 
by  name,  and  a  dialogue  similar  to  that  given  takes  place. 


1907.] 


Dixon,  The  Shasta. 


485 


Fig.  n3  (5573).     Head- iress  worn  in  the  Dream-dance.      Length,  81  cm. 


486  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

Other  gifts,  however,  must  be  presented  in  this  instance.  A 
necessary  part  of  these  gifts  is  a  deer-hide  tanned  with  the 
hair  on.  This  the  shaman  tears  into  pieces.  All  the  people 
present  at  the  ceremonial  must  be  in  plain  sight,  else  the 
shaman  will  jump  at  them,  and  bite  and  scratch  them  as  if 
he  were  a  grizzly,  for  the  grizzly  seems  mainly  to  be  the  guar 
dian  of  male  shamans.  The  shaman,  in  dancing,  growls  like 
a  bear,  and  acts  in  every  way  like  one.  He  wears  a  collar 
of  grizzly-claws  about  his  neck,  and  has  a  single  broad  red 
stripe  painted  from  the  forehead,  over  the  crown  of  his  head, 
to  his  neck.  This  represents  the  streak  on  the  head  of  the 
bear.  He  also  wears  a  collar  of  feathers  similar  to  that  worn 
by  the  rattlesnake  shaman.  The  dance  of  the  grizzly  shaman 
consists  chiefly  in  five  sinistral  circuits  of  the  fire,  made  on 
all-fours,  in  the  course  of  which  he  rolls  over,  and  turns  up 
the  stones  about  the  fireplace,  as  a  bear  turns  over  logs,  etc., 
for  ants  and  grubs.  After  this,  he  rushes  suddenly  at  the 
patient,  and,  pouncing  upon  him,  seizes  in  his  hands,  and 
extracts,  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  tongue  of  the  bear  that 
bit  him.  This  is  at  once  put  into  a  basket  of  warm  water, 
and  later  is  thrown  into  the  river. 

Bites  of  the  mountain-lion  can  be  cured  by  any  shaman, 
who  extracts  the  tongue  of  the  animal  from  the  wound.  As 
stated  previously,  the  sun  and  several  stars  are  regarded  as 
Axe'ki,  or  perhaps  as  having  Axe'ki  in  them.  It  is  not  clear 
exactly  what  the  idea  is.  These  are  supposed  to  be  particu 
larly  efficacious  in  all  eye-troubles.  The  sun,  in  addition,  is 
of  much  help  in  arrow  or  gunshot  wounds.  Each  entails  on 
the  shaman  somewhat  different  ornaments,  and  each  requires 
from  the  patient  its  own  peculiar  gifts.  Thus  the  morning 
star  requires  a  gift  of  the  seeds  of  a  small  white,  starlike 
flower  known  as  "yu'mto."  Ten  small  piles  of  this  must 
be  given,  and  the  shaman  must  wear  a  yellow  mo'kus-feather, 
a  silver-gray  foxskin,  and  must  paint  a  stripe  of  red  from  the 
forehead,  down  the  bridge  of  the  nose  and  over  the  chin,  to 
the  throat  and  breast.  The  evening  star,  on  the  other  hand, 
requires  ten  small  piles  of  the  seeds  of  a  brilliant  red  flower 
known  as  "kumpi'sna,"  the  shaman  being  obliged  to  wear  a 


1907.]  Dtxon,  The  Shasta. 


skin  as  above,  and  to  paint  .a  horizontal  stripe  of  red  across 
the  forehead,  using  as  paint  for  this,  powdered  red  clay,  and 
not  the  red  lichen  used  on  other  occasions.  The  sun  demands 
skins  of  all  kinds  of  land  animals,  and  the  shaman  must  paint 
with  all  colors,  in  the  representation  of  the  rainbow.  There 
are  also  certain  water-  Axe'ki,  who  cause  death  by  drowning. 
Here,  when  the  relatives  wish  to  find  the  body,  the  shaman 
has  to  dance,  and  the  Axe'ki  calls  for  pounded  fishbones, 
which  is  set  out  in  small  dishes. 

In  many  cases,  a  shaman  or  an  Axe'ki  may  put  a  pain,  or 
more,  under  the  door-sill  of  a  man's  house;  or  the  Axe'ki  may 
station  himself  there,  and  thus  try  to  kill  all  the  people  in 
that  house.  Or  the  pains  may  be  put  in  a  central  location  in 
a  village,  in  order  to  kill  all  the  inhabitants.  When  the  pres 
ence  of  such  a  thing  is  suspected,  because  of  much  sickness, 
a  powerful  shaman  is  called  to  try  to'  remove  the  source  of  all 
the  trouble.  On  the  shaman's  arrival,  a  pole,  painted  in 
horizontal  bands  of  red  and  black,  is  set  up  close  to  where 
the  .pains  are  supposed  to  be  buried.  To  this  pole  are  hung 
ten  buckskins,  ten  platter-baskets,  and  ten  small  bowl-bas 
kets',  while  ten  hollow  elder-sticks  are  stuck  in  the  ground  at 
the  base  of  the  pole.  The  shaman  then  calls  her  Axe'ki  to 
come  and  aid  her  in  raising  the  pains  that  are  causing  all 
the  mischief.  This  done,  she  goes  into  the  house,  lies  down 
on  a  buckskin,  and  remains  there  until  sundown.  At  this 
time  she  begins  to  sing,  rolling  about  on  the  floor  meanwhile, 
finally  standing  up,  and  supporting  herself  by  a  rope.  After 
some  time  she  calls  out,  "Kiis  ku'kwarats"  ("Now  he  rises  on 
his  elbow"),  referring  to  her  guardian  Axe'ki  in  his  distant 
home,  who  hears  her  call,  slowly  rises,  and  comes  to  her  aid. 
After  dancing  a  little  longer,  she  speaks  again,  saying,  "Kus 
kwu'kitcwits  "  ("Now  he  sits  up,  resting  one  hand  on  the 
ground").  After  further  dancing,  she  calls  out,  "Kus  kwun- 
ne'kwaya"  ("Now  he  sits  with  his  hands  clasped  over  his 
knees  '  ')  .  Again  she  dances,  and,  speaking  to  those  assembled, 
says,  "  Kus  apsu'tohokwira  "  ("  Now  he  reaches  for  his  pipe  ")  ; 
then,  "Kus  kwa'okwahir"  ("Now  he  smokes").  Then,  after 
a  longer  period  of  dancing,  the  Axe'ki  speaks  to  the  shaman, 


488    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 

saying,  "Kwa'tuk  awi  kusu'kka  sa  tr"ikahiruk"  ("Coyote's 
skin,  worn  out,  I  shall  wish  to  see  when  I  come").  He  then 
asks  for  many  other  things  also,  and  these  must  be  supplied, 
and  piled  in  ten  piles  at  the  base  of  the  pole.  Everything 
asked  for  is  in  tens,  or  is  divided  into  ten  parts.  All  being 
thus  arranged,  the  shaman  calls  out  that  her  Axe'ki  is  coming, 
flying  through  the  air.  She  describes  his  flight.  He  is  sup 
posed  to  halt  halfway,  lighting  on  a  pine-tree,  which  perhaps 
breaks  under  his  weight;  he  comes  on  again,  stopping  on  a 
side-hill,  and  causing  a  rock-slide,  and  finally  arrives  at  the 
pole  to  which  the  gifts  are  hung.  Then  the  shaman  speaks 
to  him,  saying,  "  Ru'kwami "  ("  Push  with  your  shoulder  ") ,  bid 
ding  him  thus  attempt  to  dislodge  the  evil-wishing  Axe'ki,  or  the 
pains  buried  beneath  the  ground.  If  the  shaman's  guardian 
is  successful,  he  succeeds  in  pushing  the  pains  into  the  river, 
and  drowns  them.  In  some  cases,  apparently,  an  Axe'ki  him 
self  is  supposed  to  be  thus  buried,  and  then  it  is  the  Axe'ki,  and 
not  the  actual  pain,  that  is  thus  forced  into  the  water. 

Having  accomplished  the  task  set  him,  the  shaman's  guar 
dian  Axe'ki  is  supposed  to  go  back  to  the  pole,  and  there  eats 
the  food  he  has  called  for,  and  which  has  been  placed  there 
for  him.  If  all  that  has  been  asked  for  is  not  there,  the  Axe'ki 
pounces  on  some  one  of  the  persons  present,  and  kills  and  eats 
him  instead.  Meanwhile  all  the  people  present  have  a  feast 
to  celebrate  their  relief  from  the  dangerous  pains.  When 
this  is  over,  the  shaman  dances  again,  and  the  Axe'ki  returns 
to  his  home.  Sometimes  the  Axe'ki  is  supposed  to  catch 
cold,  and  so  be  unable  to  return,  or  to  do  so  only  with  diffi 
culty.  They  are  supposed  to  be  rather  delicate,  rarely  going 
out  of  their  houses,  so  that  the  exertion  of  coming  so  far  makes 
them  tired,  and  subject  to  a  chill.  When  the  ceremony  is 
over,  the  shaman  takes  the  things  hung  to  the  pole  and  piled 
about  its  base,  and  is  supposed  to  carry  them  to  the  Axe'ki. 
The  pole  itself  and  the  ten  elder-sticks  are  carried  by  the 
shaman  to  the  summit  of  some  ridge  near  by,  and  there  leaned 
against  a  tree,  in  the  thick  brush. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  shamans  are  supposed  to  have 
the  power  to  tell  at  once  whether  a  person  has  done  wrong  in 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  489 

any  way.  They  are  able  to  do  this,  because,  when  they  look 
at  a  person  who  has  stolen,  or  done  anything  wrong, -the  person 
seems  to  the  shaman  to  be,  as  it  is  phrased,  "covered  with 
darkness.  "x 

Shamans  never  kept  their  feather  or  other  dance  ornaments 
in  their  houses,  or  within  the  precincts  of  the  village,  but 
always  hid  them  a  mile  or  so  off,  lest  their  mere  presence 
should  cause  sickness  and  trouble  to  the  people. 

CEREMONIALS.  —  Except  for  the  ceremonials  for  girls  at 
puberty,  the  war-dance,  and  the  shaman  ceremonials  just  de 
scribed,  the  Shasta  appear  to  have  practically  nothing  in  the 
way  of  ritual.  They  have,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  nothing 
comparable  to  the  long  series  of  dances  and  ceremonies  char 
acteristic  of  the  Maidu  and  other  Central  California  peoples; 
nor  do  they  have  the  white-deer  dance,  the  jumping-dance,  or 
other  ceremonials  characteristic  of  the  Yurok,  Karok,  and 
Hupa.  Thus,  as  a  whole,  their  ritual  is  meagre.  The  Shasta 
near  the  Yurok  boundary  sometimes  go  down  to  attend  the 
dances  held  there;  but  all  informants  are  agreed  that  the 
Shasta  themselves  never  hold  them. 

There  are,  however,  one  or  two  very  simple  ceremonials, 
whose  purpose  is  merely  to  acquire  luck.  For  example,  on 
very  dark  rainy  or  windy  nights,  men  go  out  alone,  and 
naked,  and  walk  all  night,  praying  for  luck,  singing,  seeing 
strange  things  pass  them,  and  hearing  strange  voices  calling.2 
Or  on  very  cold  nights  in  the  middle  of  winter,  a  man  will 
go  out  just  before  dawn,  and,  after  praying  for  luck,  will 
plunge  into  the  river,  and  swim.  There  is  also  another 
method  of  acquiring  luck,  of  which,  however,  only  confused 
accounts  have  been  secured.  It  may  be  practised  by  one  man. 
or  by  several  men  at  once,  and  consists,  apparently,  in  scar 
ifying  the  arms,  thighs,  and  knees,  rubbing  some  sort  of 
powdered  herb  into  the  cuts,  and  then  lying  on  the  back  in 
the  sweat-house,  and  pounding  the  floor  with  one  heel,  singing 
meanwhile.  This  is  done  only  in  winter,  and  at  night. 

1  Compare  Boas,    The  Eskimo  of    Baffin-Land  and  Hudson  Bay  (Bulletin  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  120). 

2  Compare  ante,  p.  468. 


49°   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII, 

There  are  songs  which  are  sung  to  keep  away  rattlesnakes 
and  to  protect  one  from  grizzly  bears.  The  former  are  known 
to  but  few  persons,  and  those  chiefly  women.  Once  a  year, 
in  winter,  some  one  who  knows  the  song  goes  to  every  house, 
and,  while  the  children  are  asleep,  sings  the  song.  The  per 
sons  knowing  this  song  are  well  known,  and  are  sent  for  far 
and  wide.  The  grizzly-bear  song  is  different,  in  that  it  is  of 
no  avail  except  for  the  person  singing  it,  and  may  be  used 
thus  only  when  actually  threatened  with  danger. 

Various  prayers  were  used  for  help  on  different  occasions. 
In  war,  for  example,  the  warrior  would  pray,  "Pe''u,  pe''u, 
'Kus  ma'ii  te'dusig  6'mmakai  ko'xweha'hanoni  kwi'rataga. 
Kus  xa'tcipita  kitciai'duk  i'nna  tcu  a/xta  ku'kwannakwa- 
hira/ka  u'mmauhi'toho  ti'tsuruxwaha/pir  "  ("  Pe'u,  Pe'u,  now 
you  I  ask  for  aid,  up  above  sun-chief  (?)  going  past.  Now 
with  your  rays  cover  me  up ;  that  blood  of  the  sunrise,  stretch 
ing  out  before  your  face,  throw  it  over  against  the  other  side  ") . 
If  a  man  is  going  out  to  hunt  grizzly  bears,  he  builds  a  fire, 
makes  a  small  offering  of  food,  leaves,  etc.,  and  then  prays, 
first  stamping  on  the  ground  twice,  but  without  crying  out 
"pe''u,"  as  before:  thus,  "Kus  ma'ii  te'duhusig  we  ta'rak  ma'- 
mu  ya/'had  ku'nniruxuswuk  ma'ii  tsa/pxo  kwiti'psira  ma/mu 
ya^'had  ku'nniruxu/swug"  ("  Now  you  I  ask  for  aid,  this  earth 
your  child.  Drag  off  from  me  the  darkness  going  down,  your 
child,  drag  it  away").  The  darkness  here  referred  to  is  stated 
to  be  the  darkness  which  disappears  in  the  west  at  dawn. 
The  fire  being  lit,  and  the  offerings  made,  the  hunter  con 
tinues:  "Kus  i'skwa  i'mma.  Tu'pahapir  ma'ii  we  u'tceewa. 
Ka'rissa.  Kus  ngwa/mmuk.  Kus  i'skwa  ku'kwaruxwahg'mpig 
ma/mu  tcT'tak  ml'katsugwe  makai'  e'tca  kadiwa/  sta'karux- 
wahS'inpiyig.  Kus  we'ke  kwi'tcistire  ki'nna  ara5rto  a'rawai" 
("  Now  there  is  a  fire.  I  throw  it  down  for  you  a  white  cloud. 
Good  it  is.  Now  look  at  me.  Now  kick  off  hither  the  fleas > 
lice,  etc.,  from  your  body.  I  hope  you  will  kick  off  to  me  five 
mats.  Now  here  I  break  sticks  for  the  fire,  over  the  leg  of  a 
deer").  Many  of  the  allusions  and  expressions  in  these  prayers 
are  as  yet  not  clear,  and  the  above  translation  is  only  tentative . 

Although  the  Shasta  have  no  important  ceremonials  other 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  49 ' 

than  those  already  described,  they  appear  to  have  borrowed, 
in  comparatively  recent  times,  some  from  the  Wintun  of  the 
upper  Sacramento  and  McCloud  region.  The  dance  most 
generally  adopted  appears  to  be  the  so-called  "big-head 
dance,"  in  which  a  head-dress  similar  to  the  do  of  the  Maidu 
is  worn.1  This  dance  is  said  to  have  been  adopted  by  the 
Shasta  Valley  people  about  thirty  years  ago.  It  seems  prob 
able,  however,  that  it  was  known  and  used  somewhat  before 
this. 

The  ghost-dance  movement  reached  this  section  of  Cali 
fornia  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  ago,  apparently.  It 
was  learned  from  some  Modocs  who  came  on  a  visit  to  Yreka, 
and  was  introduced  to  the  Klamath  River  section  of  the  Shasta 
by  the  father  of  my  chief  informant.  The  ghost -dance,  for 
a  while,  caused  some  excitement;  but  this  soon  died  down, 
and  the  whole  seems  now  to  have  disappeared.  In  general, 
the  character  of  the  dance  seems  to  have  been  precisely  that 
described  by  Dr.  Kroeber  among  the  Yurok  and  Karok.2 
Every  one  dreamed  of,  and  was  visited  by,  the  spirits  of  the 
dead,  who  gave  the  dreamers  songs.  The  songs  and  dances 
were  supposed  to  bring  back  the  dead,  who  were  thought  to 
be  dancing  back  along  the  path  to  the  other  world.  If  a 
person  did  not  believe  the  new  dispensation,  he  would  be 
turned  to  stone,  or  into  some  animal. 

MYTHOLOGY. 

The  mythology  of  the  Shasta  is  fairly  abundant.  In  char 
acter,  it  differs  very  considerably  from  that  of  the  Maidu  or 
Wintun,  resembling  more  the  type  of  the  stocks  of  the  North 
western  area  as  exemplified  by  the  Hupa  and  Wishosk.  Tak 
ing  the  mythology  as  a  whole,  there  is  little  system  or  sequence 
observable.  Creation  myths,  so  characteristic  of  the  Central 
Calif ornian  area,  are  practically  absent;  and  the  distinction 
between  the  mythical  age  and  the  present  era  is  much  less 
clear.  The  rather  consistent  opposition,  also,  between  a  well 

1  See  this  volume,  p.  292. 

2  Kroeber,    Ghost-dance    in    California  (Journal    of  American    Folk-Lore  Society, 
Vol.  XVII,  pp.  32-36). 


492    Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII, 


and  an  evil  wishing  power,  so  prominent  in  the  Maidu,  here 
fades  out  almost  entirely. 

In  the  myths,  the  Coyote  is  a  very  prominent  figure,  and 
while  presenting  without  any  diminution,  to  say  the  least, 
his  characteristics  as  a  trickster,  he  occasionally  plays  a  more 
dignified  part,  and  appears  as  a  well-wisher  and  helper  of 
mankind.  The  trickster  and  culture-hero  characters  are  thus 
more  blended  than  in  Central  Calif orina.  Although  Coyote 
is  in  part  a  destroyer  of  monsters,  that  the  world  may  be  a 
better  place  to  live  in,  another  being,  known  by  various  names, 
is  also  energetic  in  this  line.  One  of  the  most  prominent 
myths,  told  in  slightly  variant  forms  in  different  places,  is  that 
of  the  Lost  Brother,  in  which  one  of  two  brothers  is  stolen 
by  a  monster.  The  remaining  brother  seeks  for  him  far  and 
wide,  asks  the  sun  for  advice  as  to  his  whereabouts,  and,  after 
many  adventures,  finds  the  brother  and  rescues  him,  bringing 
him  home  safely  at  last. 

As  compared  with  the  Maidu  or  the  Wintun,  the  mythology 
of  the  Shasta  seems  quite  uniform.  Variants  of  several  tales 
have  been  secured  in  different  portions  of  the  area  occupied 
by  the  people,  but  the  differences  are  comparatively  small; 
and  the  whole  body  of  the  Shasta  appear  to  have  had  sub 
stantially  the  same  myths. 

Comparisons  of  the  Shasta  myths  in  content  with  those 
of  the  surrounding  stocks  can  only  be  made  at  present  to  the 
southwest,  the  south,  and  the  east.  With  the  Hupa1  and 
Wishosk,2  the  only  stocks  of  the  Northwestern  area  from 
whom  material  is  accessible,  the  similarities  are  more  general 
than  particular,  although  some  eight  or  ten  incidents  are 
found  which  are  common.  With  the  Win  tun,  3  the  extent 
of  the  resemblance  is  about  the  same  as  that  with  the  Hupa 
and  Wishosk.  Closer  analogies  exist,  however,  with  the 
Yana,3  and  the  closest  of  all  w^ith  the  Achoma'wi,  Atsuge'wi, 
and  Northeastern  Maidu.4  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  the  type 

1  Goddard,  op.  cit. 

2  Kroeber,  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  Vol.  XVIII,  pp.  85-108. 

3  Curtin,  Creation  Myths  of  Primitive  America.     Boston,  1898. 

4  Dixon,  see  this  volume,  pp.  39  et  seq. 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  493 

of  the  mythology  as  a  whole  is  not  in  accord.  We  have 
thus  the  Shasta  mythology  agreeing  in  general  type  most 
closely  with  the  Hupa  and  Wishosk,  whereas  in  content  and 
incident  the  agreement  is  closer  with  the  Yana,  Achoma'wi, 
and  Northeastern  Maidu.  A  large  mass  of  incidents,  how 
ever,  show  no  relation  to  either  of  these  or  to  the 
Wintun. 

The  almost  complete  lack  of  mythological  material  from 
the  Oregon  stocks  makes  comparison  to  the  northward,  for 
the  present,  difficult.  It  appears,  however,  that  as  compared 
with  the  Tillamook,1  Chinook,2  and  Kathlamet,3  there  are  a 
number  of  similarities,  and  that  these  are  relatively  greater, 
and  of  more  importance,  than  is  the  case  with  the  Maidu. 
We  find,  for  example,  among  the  Kathlamet, 4  a  myth  in  many 
ways  comparable  to  the  Shasta  tale  of  the  girl  who  was  sent 
to  marry  the  famous  hunter,  but  who  by  mistake  married 
the  wrong  man.  The  tale  of  the  Lost  or  Stolen  Brother  is 
also  found  in  a  somewhat  variant  form  among  the  Tillamook. s 
Several  of  the  incidents  in  the  Coyote  tales  are  to  be  found, 
as  well,  among  both  the  Tillamook6  and  the  Chinook. 7  Al 
though  these  latter  incidents  are  found  among  the  Maidu, 
still  they  are  practically  confined  to  the  northeastern  por 
tion  of  the  stock,  which  is  very  closely  in  contact  with  the 
Achoma'wi. 

On  the  whole,  then,  it  may  be  said  that  the  mythology  of 
the  Shasta  is  unsystematic,  and  in  this  particular  resembles 
more  the  type  of  Northwestern  California  than  that  of  the 
Maidu.  In  content,  however,  the  analogies  are  closer  appar 
ently  to  the  southeast  and  east  than  to  the  west.  It  is 
also  to  be  noted  that  such  agreements  as  are  to  be  found  to 
the  northward  are  more  marked  with  the  coastal  tribes  —  such 
as  the  Tillamook,  Chinook,  Kathlamet,  etc.  — than  with  the 
peoples  of  the  northern  part  of  the  Great  Basin. 


1  Boas,  Traditions  of  the  Tillamook  (Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  Vol 
XI,  pp.  23,  133). 

2  Boas,  Chinook  Texts  (Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  No.  20), 
Washington,  1894. 

3  Boas,  Kathlamet  Texts  (Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  No.  26), 
Washington   1901. 

4  Op.  cit.,  pp.  20-24.  s  Op.  cit.,  pp.  136—138. 
6  Op.  cit.,  pp.  140,  141.                                         7  Op.  cit.,  p.  101. 


494   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XVII, 

CONCLUSION. 

From  the  foregoing  description  of  the  culture  of  the  Shasta, 
certain  general  conclusions  may  be  drawn.  As  a  whole,  the 
Shasta  may  be  said  to  occupy  a  somewhat  intermediate  po 
sition  between  the  cultures  characteristic  of  Northwestern 
California,  of  Central  California,  and  of  Southern  Oregon. 
Agreeing  more  or  less  closely  with  the  Hupa,  Yurok,  and  Karok 
of  the  Northwestern  area  in  much  of  their  material  culture, 
they  yet  differ  widely  and  fundamentally  from  them  in  much 
of  their  social  organization  and  religious  life.  The  differences 
are,  I  believe,  too  great  to  warrant  us  in  including  the  Shasta 
as  members  of  the  clear-cut  culture  of  the  Northwestern  area. 
Even  less  do  they  show  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
Central  culture  area,  with  its  circular,  semi-subterranean, 
earth-covered  lodges,  its  high  development  of  basketry,  its 
loose  social  organization,  its  elaborate  religious  ceremonials, 
and  well-developed  creation  myths.  The  Shasta  thus  appear 
to  occupy  a  somewhat  isolated  position  as  regards  the  typical 
Calif ornian  cultures,  to  be,  indeed,  un-Californian  in  their 
general  characteristics,  and  probably  more  closely  affiliated 
with  the  as  yet  little-known  culture  of  Southern  Oregon. 

Thus  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  the  culture  of  the 
Shasta,  as  a  whole,  seem  to  corroborate  the  somewhat  un 
certain  traditions  as  to  a  former  considerable  extension  of 
this  people  to  the  northward. 

The  existence  of  fragments  of  three  more  or  less  well  marked 
dialects  about  the  periphery  of  the  area  occupied  by  the  major 
portion  of  the  Shasta,  suggests  the  thought  that  possibly 
these  might  represent  the  remnants  of  an  earlier  branch  of 
the  stock  more  thoroughly  Calif  ornian  in  its  culture  and  char 
acteristics.  The  present  main  body  of  the  Shasta,  then,  might 
be  regarded  as  a  comparatively  recent  wave  of  immigrants, 
from  the  Oregon  side  of  the  Siskiyous,  who  had  overwhelmed 
those  members  of  the  stock  who  were  earlier  in  occupancy, 
and  brought  in  a  larger  element  of  Oregonian  culture.1  This 

1  Dixon,  The  Mythology  of  the  Shasta-Achoma'wi  (American  Anthropologist, 
N.S.,  Vol.  VII,  p.  612). 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  495 


is,  and  must  probably  always  remain,  a  mere  hypothesis; 
for  the  data  requisite  for  its  verification  have  mainly  disap 
peared.  Nothing  virtually  remains  of  these  fragmentary 
groups  speaking  different  dialects,  and  we  are  therefore 
unable  to  make  any  comparisons  of  their  culture  with  that 
of  the  present  main  body  of  the  Shasta,  or  the  surrounding 
stocks.  The  meagre  information  in  regard  to  the  Konoml'hu 
given  in  the  appendix  is,  it  must  be  confessed,  as  much 
opposed  to  this  theory  as  it  is  in  favor  of  it.  It  is  not  im 
possible  that  investigations  now  in  progress  among  the 
Achoma'wi  and  Atsuge'wi,  the  two  eastern  members  of  the 
Shastan  stock,  may  aid  in  this  matter,  and  that  more 
searching  linguistic  studies  than  have  yet  been  made  may 
also  throw  some-  light  on  this  question,  which  must  for  the 
present  be  left  undecided. 

APPENDIX. 

THE  KONOMI'HU.  —  In  the  summer  of  1903,  what  appears 
to  be  a  hitherto  unknown  branch  of  the  Shasta  was  found 
to  have  formerly  occupied  a  small  area  about  the  Forks  of 
Salmon  River.1  Acting  on  information  from  Dr.  A.  L. 
Kroeber  and  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard  of  the  University  of  Cali 
fornia,  in  regard  to  what  they  supposed  was  a  slightly  different 
dialect  of  Shasta,  it  was  discovered  that,  although  at  present 
a  Shasta  dialect  is  spoken  in  this  vicinity,  formerly  it  was 
occupied  by  a  people  calling  themselves  Konomi'hu,  and 
speaking  a  very  different  language.  The  last  survivor  of 
these  people  died  in  1901,  and  only  the  following  very  frag 
mentary  information  could  be  secured. 

The  area  occupied  by  the  Konomi'hu  extended,  from  the 
Forks,  some  seven  miles  up  the  South  Fork,  and  five  miles 
up  the  North  Fork,  of  the  Salmon  River.  They  lived,  for 
the  most  part,  in  a  single  village  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
South  Fork,  a  few  hundred  yards  above  the  Forks  itself. 
Their  houses  were  round  bark  huts  with  a  conical  roof,  the 


1  Dixon,  The  Shasta- Achoma'wi:  A  New  Linguistic  Stock  with  Four  New  Dialects 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.S.,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  213-2:7). 


Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  [Vol.  XVII, 


floor  of  the  house  being  excavated  some  half-metre  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  The  houses  had  a  door  at  one  side 
and  a  smoke-hole  in  the  centre  of  the  roof.  There  were  no 
dance-houses,  nor  were  houses  built  that  were  like  those  of 
the  Yurok  or  Karok.  The  Konomi'hu  dressed  in  buckskin 
robes,  leggings,  and  skirts,  much  fringed,  and  decorated  with 
both  shell  and  beads,  and  with  painted  designs  in  black,  white, 
and  red.  These  leggings  and  robes  were  much  traded  to  the 
Shasta  of  Scott  Valley.  No  baskets  were  made,  all  being 
obtained  by  trade.  Buckets  of  skin,  with  a  wooden  hoop  for 
a  rim,  were  much  used.  Platters  and  trough-shaped  vessels  of 
stone  were  used  for  various  purposes,  and  spoons  of  elk-horn 
and  wood.  Their  food  was  fish,  game,  and  acorns;  the  latter 
being  pounded  in  wooden  mortars  made  from  a  trunk  of  a 
tree.  No  nets  were  used  in  fishing,  only  spears.  They  did  not 
use  a  pack-basket,  but  a  large  buckskin  bag  carried  by  means 
of  a  tump-line.  The  Konomi'hu  traded  with  the  Shasta  for 
disk-shaped  shell  beads,  and  with  the  Karok  for  dentalia,  and 
had  but  little  contact  with  the  Hupa.  They  intermarried  with 
the  Shasta  of  Scott  Valley  to  a  considerable  extent.  Nothing 
resembling  the  dances  characteristic  of  the  lower  Klamath 
was  known  to  the  Konomi' hu.  The  Coyote  was  thought  to 
have  created  the  world.  There  was  no  tradition  of  migration. 
The  dead  were  buried. 

From  this  fragmentary  account,  it  is  evident  that  the 
culture  of  the  Konomi'hu  was  substantially  in  accord  with 
that  of  their  neighbors,  in  particular  the  Shasta,  but  that  in 
some  features  there  was  a  difference.  This  discrepancy  was, 
however,  very  much  greater  from  the  linguistic  point  of  view, 
as  will  be  apparent  from  the  short  vocabulary  which  follows. 
This  was  secured  with  some  difficulty,  and  consists  merely  of 
the  miscellaneous  words  which  my  informant  was  able  to  re 
member  as  having  been  used  by  her  grandfather,  a  Konomi' hu, 
in  her  girlhood,  some  thirty  years  before.  In  only  one  or 
two  cases  are  there  recognizable  similarities  with  any  other 
language  in  the  region,  and  these  are  with  Shasta  or  Achoma'wi. 
The  whole  feeling  and  sound  of  the  language  is,  however, 
very  much  like  the  Shasta,  and  it  has  therefore  been  tenta- 


1907.]  Dixon,  The  Shasta.  497 

lively  classed  as  belonging  to  the  Shastan  stock.  Inasmuch 
as  this  brief  vocabulary,  however,  is  probably  all  that  can  now 
be  secured  of  this  language,  it  was  thought  best  to  publish  it 
here  in  full,  in  order  that  it  may  be  accessible  to  linguistic 

students. 

Hand ki'poman 

Legs kaha/masakana'tsxsu 

Eye ki"oi 

Hair tla'wai 

Head ki'na 

Back ki'kiwatitxop 

Indian kis'apuhi'yu 

Wild  Indian iksin'ahutqe 

Fox ki'putska 

Ground  squirrel ki'pnikawats 

Grizzly  bear kamka'tsineau 

Coyote qomu'tsau 

Frog k  Juts' watin 

Bat kitcum'uni 

Salmon ya'nni 

Newt tapa'kan 

Trout sa'hawai 

Lake t  lin'apxau 

Water kum'ma 

Sand. kit'Iuts 

Mountain kip 

Aflat pa'wi 

Saddle  of  mountain he'mau 

Pinnacle  of  rock ti'poi 

House in'nnokwayig 

Stone qwa'sunip 

Creek kinapxig 

A  ford hau'na 

Night, qumma't'tlau 

Trail k  lenom' 

Obsidian kle'tspai 

Hazel xas'kipama 

Wild  onion ta"awanak 

Wild  onion,  another  variety kwan'apxo 

White  fir sa'maka 

Cedar kin'axo,  qoa' 

Brush,  bushes ki'tsa 

Spruce qohl'ma 

Stingy kuxiwi'wi 

[September,  1907.]  32 


49 8   Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,   [Vol.  XVII, 

Straight is'abunnatutsu'kum 

Ugly,  bad-looking atane'wig  kip'xawi 

High pak'wai 

Eat tamma'hawe 

Come  down  ! kipa'k'hau 

Who  licked  that  off? tcapa'ti    nip7 'nit   t'.aias' 

Who  cut  that  off  ? tcapa'ti  taxes' 

I'll  hit  you asse'hepannahap 

I  am  sorry ai'yukiyatc 

Let's  run  a  race! qwa'hapuas 

I'll  run  too klwi'himati   ts!a'ts!au 

Look  up  this  way ! qohi'ma   qwa'ma 

I  met  him  there qi'si  put'sup 

Cedar  is  soaking kin'axo   klu'patsipa'qua 

Where  do  you  come  from  ? tca'ma   hayi 

Come  here ! ma'tikina 

Get  down! klihi'tsinnihauwe 

Look  over! kis'nitiknima 

Go  away ! ki'ts  !iyatsau 

Who  is  that? kipa'ha'po 

I'm  afraid  of  him kip'isinikwai 

Go  away!  I'm  just  going  to  hit  you . .  yis'anamnas       yas'amati      tca- 

patitakya 


>^A.t<^, 

ff  OF  THE  A 

UNIVERSITY  | 

7 

PK^X 

i^^^*^ 


OF 


BULLETIN  A,  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LIX. 


„    3c  it  L  e.     or      MILS* 


Map    showing  the  location  and  subdivisions  of  the  5hasta    and 
surrounding  tribes  and  the  principal  Villages  of  the  5na$ta,. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LX. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 


pIG  z  — Basket  with  "wood  set  up  around"  design.  In  this  specimen 
the  warp  is  crossed  just  below  the  edge,  as  in  baskets  of 
Northwestern  type.  Height,  10  cm.;  diam.,  25  cm.  Cat. 
No.  ¥||¥. 

FIG.  2. —  Basket  with  "wood  set  up  around"  design.  Height,  18  cm.; 
diam.,  21  cm.  Cat.  No. 


V      Of  THE 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LX. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXI. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 

FIG.  i. — Basket  with  "wood  set  up  around"  design.  This  is  the 
decoration  most  commonly  found  on  Shasta  baskets. 
Height,  ii  cm.;  diam.,  25  cm.  Cat.  No.  ?^T. 

FIG.  2. —  Basket  with  "wood  set  up  around"  design.  Height,  13  cm.; 
diam.,  28  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^y. 

FIG.  3.  —  Baskewt  with  "wood  set  up  around"  design.  Height,  n  cm.; 
diam.,  29  cm.  Cat.  No.  ¥f§^. 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXI. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXII. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 


FIG.  i.  —  Basket  with  "flint  goes  around"  design.  Height,  12  cm.; 
diam.,  24  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^§5^. 

FIG.  2.  —  Basket  with  "flint  goes  around"  design.  Height,  n  cm.; 
diam.,  23  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^§f^. 

FIG.  3.  —  Basket  with  "butterfly"  design,  which  is  practically  the 
Yurok  "waxpoo."  This  specimen  has  the  edge  with 
warps  turned  over,  which  is  characteristic  of  baskets 
secured  from  the  Shasta  at  Siletz.  Height,  7  cm.;  diam., 
22  cm.  Cat.  No. 


IG.  4. — Basket  with  "  salmon-heart"  design,  which  is  much  like  the 
Yurok  and  Karok  "sturgeon"  or  "snail's  back."  Height, 
10  cm.;  diam.,  19  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^fj. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXIII. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 

FIG.  i. — Milling-basket  with  design  of  unknown  significance,  but 
which  is  similar  to  the  Yurok  "ladder"  design.  Height, 
18  cm.;  diam.,  39  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^^. 

FIG.  2.  —  Basket  with  design  of  unknown  significance.  Height,  14  cm. ; 
diam.,  38  cm.  Cat.  No.  ¥f  ?5. 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXIIl. 


SHASTA  BASKETS 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXIV. 


SHASTA      BASKETS. 


FIG.  i. — Basket  resembling  Wintun  baskets,  with  design  "it  goes 
round  one  way,"  which  is  similar  to  the  "pulled  around" 
design  shown  on  a  basket  from  the  upper  Sacramento. 


Height,   10  cm.;  diam.,  20  cm.     Cat.  No. 


50 

?o  SI- 


FIG.  2. — Basket  resembling  Wintun  baskets,  with  design  "it  goes 
round  one  way,"  which  also  suggests  the  Achoma'wi 
design  of  the  "skunk."  Height,  n  cm.;  diam.,  24  cm. 
Cat.  No.  ¥ff3. 

FIG.  3. — Basket  with  design  "it  goes  round  crooked."  This  is  iden 
tical  with  the  Maidu  design  of  "wood  in  billets."  Height, 
13  cm.;  diam.,  21  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^^§5. 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXIV. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXV. 


SHASTA    BASKETS. 


FIG.  i  .  —  Basket  with  design  of  unknown  significance.     Height,  1  1  cm.  ; 
diam.,  18  cm.     Cat.  No. 


FIG.  2.  —  Basket  with  design  "it  goes  round  crooked."  This  is  iden 
tical  with  the  Maidu  design  of  "wood  in  billets."  Height, 
12  cm.;  diam.,  23  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^oiU- 


FIG.  3.  —  Basket  with  "frog's-belly"  design.  This  is  similar  to  the 
Maidu  "water-snake"  design.  Height,  13  cm.;  diam., 
26  cm.  Cat.  No. 


- 


I    UNIVERSITY 

V        of 

N^C/ 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXV. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXVI. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 


FIG.  i.  —  Mortar-basket  with  design  resembling  one  element  in  the 
Achoma'wi  "mussel's-tongue."  Height,  14  cm.;  diam., 
39  cm.  Cat.  No.  T^. 

FIG.  2.  —  Mortar-basket  with  strengthening-rod.  Height,  16  cm.; 
diam.,  44  cm.  Cat.  No.  i,f&s- 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXVI. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXVII. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 


FIG.  i. — Basket  with  design  of  unknown  significance.  Height,  13 
cm.;  diam.,  46  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^££3-. 

FIG.  2. —  Basket  finished  with  a  band  of  closer  twining,  and  with 
design  of  unknown  significance.  Height,  7  cm.;  diam., 
39  cm.  Cat.  No.  ¥*>f<r- 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  | 


OF 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXVII. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXVIII. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 

FIG.  i.  —  Open-work  platter-basket  with  warp  crossed  just  below  the 
edge,  as  in  baskets  of  Northwestern  type.  The  orna 
mentation  is  by  means  of  dyed  warps,  but  the  significance 
of  the  design  is  unknown.  Height,  7  cm.;  diam.,  37  cm. 
Cat.  No.  4gT. 

FIG.  2. — Basket  with  design  of  unknown  significance.  Height,  9  cm.; 
diam.,  40  cm.  Cat.  No. 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PIATE  LXVIII. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXIX. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 

FIG.  i.  —  Burden-basket    of    conical     shape     and     open-work     type. 
Height,  50  cm.;  diam.,  56  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^ffj. 

FIG.  2 .  —  Burden-basket  of  conical  shape  and  open-work  type.     Height, 
48  cm.;  diam.,  53  cm.     Cat.  No.  5f§3- 


^X 

A 

;51TY   J 


BULLETIN  A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXIX. 


ili 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXX. 


SHASTA     BASKETS. 


FIG.  i.  —  Open-work  pack-basket  with  warp  crossed  just  below  the 
edge,  as  in  baskets  of  Northwestern  type.  The  ornamenta 
tion  is  by  means  of  dyed  warps.  Height,  5  cm.;  diam., 
23  cm.  Cat.  No.  7f  J,. 

FIG.  2. — Platter-basket.    Height,  5  cm.;  diam.,  23  cm.     Cat.  No. 


HIMI.I.TIN     \.    M.   N.    11. 


Vot,  XVII,  PLATE  LXX. 


SHASTA  BASKETS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXXI. 


SHASTA     MAT. 

This  mat  was  made  by  twining,  every  three  or  four  inches,  woof- 
strands  about  reed  warps,  which  were  doubled  at  the  sides. 
The  ends  of  the  mat  are  finished  in  a  braid.  Length,  166  cm.; 
width,  135  cm.  Cat.  No. 


BULLETIN   A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVII,  PLATE  LXXI. 


SHASTA  MAT. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  LXXII. 


PAINTED     BUCKSKIN. 


Buckskin  skirt  ornamented  with  rude  zigzags  and  dots  of  red  paint. 
This  skirt  is  worn  by  shamans  in  connection  with  a  painted 
buckskin  head-dress  decorated  with  feathers,  etc.  Length,  119 
cm.  Cat.  No.  ,1^. 


BULLETIN   A.  M.  N.  H. 


VOL.  XVI[,  PLATE  LXXII. 


PAINTED  BUCKSKIN. 


